Modeling human embryo adhesion using a microfluidic platform.

Authors

Sofía Zaragozano, María Pardo-Figuerez, Ana Monteagudo-Sanchez, Anna Quirant, Javier Moncayo-Arlandi, Javier Gonzalez-Fernandez, Jaime Llera-Oyola, Petr Volkov, Sara Maggi, Luis Quintero, Francisco Raga, Pablo Grases, Xavier Santamaria, Inmaculada Moreno, Nicolas Plachta, Carlos Simon, Felipe Vilella

Published in

Science advances. Volume 12. Issue 28. Pages eadz2249. Jul 10, 2026. Epub Jul 10, 2026.

Abstract

Embryo adhesion represents a critical step of implantation, yet understanding this process has been hindered by the lack of human in vitro platforms that replicate endometrial physiology. Here, we present a dual-channel microfluidic platform containing organoid-derived endometrial epithelium and primary stromal cells. Our model recapitulates important endometrial hallmarks including epithelial polarization, stromal decidualization, extracellular vesicle release, and hormone-induced receptivity. We validated the model using mouse embryos and human blastocysts, where we showed that embryos displayed features of initial adhesion. These included establishment of embryo-epithelial contacts initiated via the polar trophectoderm, inner cell mass repositioning, and lineage reorganization. Moreover, human embryos secreted βhCG indicating a functional trophoblast. Thus, this work provides a platform to study key features of embryo adhesion and endometrial receptivity and disorders affecting embryo-endometrium interactions.

PMID:
42430472
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 11 Jul 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.