# In vivo imaging platform for ectopic pregnancy research in mouse models

> **NIH NIH R21** · THE TRUSTEES OF THE STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · 2021 · $182,953

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Tubal ectopic pregnancy (tEP) is a life-threatening reproductive disorder affecting nearly 2% of pregnancies in
developed countries. The etiology of tEP is far from resolved, leaving no way to design preventive measures and
few strategies for early diagnosis. Investigating how a tEP forms and develops has been extremely difficult.
Because it is unethical to access human oviduct (fallopian tube) during healthy pregnancies as the proper control,
studying tEP in animal models is the only way to understand its etiology. It is currently believed that an impaired
oviductal transporting function can lead to embryo retention in the oviduct as a prerequisite of tEP, yet the
underlying mechanisms are still unclear. A lack of imaging technique able to assess the oocyte/embryo transport
in the oviduct remains the key barrier to investigate the functional causes of embryo retention. In fact, the normal
process of oocyte/embryo transport in a mammalian oviduct has never been visualized. As a result, current
knowledge of the oocyte/embryo transport process was largely extrapolated from in vitro or ex vivo experiments,
neglecting the native dynamics of the female reproductive system. Given that the oviductal environment is too
complex to model, in vivo dynamic imaging of oocyte/embryo transport is greatly needed to understand the
specific causes of embryo retention in the oviduct, which is essential to unravel the etiology of tEP.
The goal of this project is to establish a novel in vivo imaging platform integrating longitudinal assessment of the
oocyte/embryo dynamics and optogenetic control of the oviductal function to interrogate the detailed process of
embryo retention in the mouse oviduct. An integrated optical coherence tomography and dual-wavelength
optogenetic control system will be developed and demonstrated for longitudinal imaging and imaging-guided
manipulation of the reproductive process in the mouse model. Genetic and pharmacological approaches will be
utilized to disrupt the ciliary and muscular functions, and with the in vivo imaging platform, we will investigate the
impaired oocyte/embryo transport process and elucidate the functional causes of embryo retentions in tEP.
Successful completion of this project will bring a major step forward in tEP research with 1) a critical technological
advancement and 2) new insights into the etiology of tEP.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10147074
- **Project number:** 5R21EB028409-04
- **Recipient organization:** THE TRUSTEES OF THE STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
- **Principal Investigator:** Shang Wang
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $182,953
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-01-10 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10147074

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10147074, In vivo imaging platform for ectopic pregnancy research in mouse models (5R21EB028409-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10147074. Licensed CC0.

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