CTR member Yassen Abbas has recently published a paper on "Tissue stiffness at the human maternal-fetal interface". Summary and link below. Yassen's work is funded by both CTR and the Isaac Newton Trust.
Summary:
Mechanics is now widely recognised as an important regulator of cell behaviour. However, it has largely been neglected in studies of early pregnancy. One of the limitations is the lack of basic knowledge of the mechanical properties at the maternal-fetal interface. In this study, we have determined the stiffness of human non-pregnant endometrium at the secretory phase of the menstrual cycle, first trimester decidua and placenta. We found increased stiffness in decidua basalis, the site of implantation. We compare the stiffness of endometrium, decidua and placenta to Matrigel, the extracellular matrix protein most commonly used to study extravillous trophoblast invasion in vitro and more recently to establish organoids. These results can be used by researchers when choosing the most appropriate substrate for culturing cells isolated from tissues at the maternal-fetal interface
Link:
Tissue stiffness at the human maternal-fetal interface: https://academic.oup.com/humrep/article/doi/10.1093/humrep/dez139/5579743/