Menstrual Cycles: A "Chip" on Researchers' Shoulders No More

It has been historically difficult to study women in different contexts due to the hormonal fluctuations that they experience throughout the course of their menstrual cycle. As such, the results of research that has been conducted only on male subjects is not always applicable to females. For instance, it has been elucidated that when women exercise at different parts of their menstrual cycle, they metabolize nutrients and regulate body temperature differently than men. Thus, nutritional recommendations that have been made regarding pre, during, and post-workout do not apply for both males and females.

            Researchers at Northwestern University have been working to fix the chasms in knowledge that center around female reproductive anatomy. These researchers cultivated groups of cells from five different organs of humans and mice in a network of interconnected cubes. These cubes contained tubes that allowed for blood and hormone flow. Airflow and pressure were also controlled within this system. The purpose of this system is to mimic the movement of fluid through the human body and to allow cells within the system to survive for a 28-day duration, the length of a typical reproductive cycle.

            The researchers injected the system with pituitary hormone and observed as the cultivated cells secreted estrogen and progesterone at levels that emulated that of a normal menstrual cycle. The researchers also found that the cells signaled to one another in the same way that female reproductive organs would. The team was able to manipulate the cell secretions to mimic both ovulation and early pregnancy.

             Though there are limitations to this system, such as its inability to discern how exposure to toxins early in life might affect reproductive health and its exclusion of placental cells, the “menstrual cycle on a chip” may prove as a useful tool for further research on the female reproductive system.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/menstrual-cycle-on-a-chip-offers-a-new-window-into-female-physiology/