Professor Jungho Ahn’s Team Creates Groundbreaking Patient-Specific Endometrium-on-a-Chip for Infertility Treatment
A research team from Sungkyunkwan University, led by Professor Jungho Ahn in collaboration with Professor Youn Jung Kang from CHA University, has developed the first patient-derived endometrium-on-a-chip platform. This innovative technology is designed to assist in the diagnosis of infertility and the development of tailored treatment strategies.
Technology Overview
The microchip created by the research team closely resembles a patient’s uterine tissue, providing a realistic environment for assessing endometrial receptivity, which is essential for the successful implantation of a fertilized embryo. Traditional methods of assessing endometrial health often rely on metrics such as tissue thickness and blood flow, but these techniques frequently do not accurately predict implantation success for individual patients.
Innovative Scoring System
The new chip utilizes patient-derived cells arranged in a three-dimensional structure, allowing for quantitative evaluations of implantation potential through a scoring system known as the Embryo Receptivity Scoring system (ERS2). This advancement provides healthcare professionals with immediate insights into a patient’s readiness for conception and the most effective therapeutic approaches.
Personalized Treatment Predictions
Additionally, the platform can facilitate personalized predictions regarding treatment effectiveness, helping to identify the most suitable medications for individual patients. Research findings indicate that the drug CXCL12 significantly enhances angiogenesis and endometrial receptivity in patients with intrauterine adhesions. Tracking treatment responses on the chip revealed notable improvements in implantation success scores, underscoring its clinical applicability.
Significance of the Research
Professor Ahn emphasized the importance of this study in enhancing the accuracy of implantation potential predictions through the realistic modeling of patient tissues. He noted that this work represents a pioneering application of organ-on-a-chip technology in clinical patient care, which could potentially improve the success rates of infertility treatments.
Publication Details
The findings of this research were published in the journal *Nature Communications* on November 25, with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea and the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Publication Reference
– Title: Microengineered patient-derived endometrium-on-a-chip for the evaluation of endometrial receptivity and personalised translational medicine
– Journal: Nature Communications
– DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-65406-7
(Source: Sungkyunkwan University)
