On 14 September, the 13th Global Forum for Reproductive and Health in 2023 was successfully held online.
Associate Professor Lana McClements from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) was invited to give a presentation on "New 3D Placenta Models for Accelerating Drug Development in Pre-eclampsia". The lecture was hosted by Prof. Aihua Liao, Dean of the Institute of Reproductive Health.
In this presentation, Prof. Lana McClements describes two 3D placenta models that her team has created. The first 3D bioprinted placenta can reproduce the compositional characteristics of the diverse trophoblast cells of the placenta. Studies of 2D trophoblast cell models and 3D bioprinted placenta models revealed differences in the molecular regulatory mechanisms in the 2D and 3D models. The second is a 3D placental-on-a-chip model that can be used to study the interactions between trophoblast cells and vascular endothelial cells in early pregnancy, thus simulating the mechanism of endothelial dysfunction during the pathology of preeclampsia. Using these two 3D placental models, Prof. Lana McClement's team further elucidated the regulatory mechanisms of FKBPL in the development of preeclampsia and screened for potential drugs for the treatment of preeclampsia.
During the question and answer session, students and faculty members expressed that Prof. Lana McClements' systematic work on the establishment and application of 3D placental modelling was very refreshing. Both sides discussed possible future collaborative research, such as how to use the 3D placental models to study the interactions of immune cells and trophoblasts at the maternal-fetal interface.
This forum is funded by the "Double First Class" International Cooperation Program of Huazhong University of Science and Technology.
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