# Development of a Novel Bioinspired Pelvic Organ Prolapse Repair Graft

> **NIH NIH F30** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2022 · $48,041

## Abstract

Surgical treatments for pelvic organ prolapse (POP) suffer from high complication and reoperation rates, with
70% of native tissue repair operations failing within five years and the FDA halting commercial use of
graft materials for transvaginal procedures. Many of these problematic grafts are repurposed from non-
gynecologic procedures and cannot mimic the properties of the vagina. Recent cell- or protein-enhanced
experimental grafts also do not bridge the technological gap due to mechanical failure and immunogenic DNA
retention. Given the gap in knowledge regarding engineering POP repair grafts less susceptible to failure, our
objective is to obtain novel data on healthy, non-prolapsed vaginal extracellular matrix (vECM) structure and
function to inform devel-opment of a synthetic biomimetic graft. We will define contributions of collagen and
elastin fibers to the mechan-ical behavior of vaginal tissue and use these data as constraints for iterative design
of elastomeric, biocompatible graft components that provide mechanical support and cell adhesion. Then, we
will probe for fibroblast adhesion and absence of pathologic myofibroblast differentiation on these materials.
Our proposed product design is com-posed of a non-degradable 3D printed elastomer mesh encapsulated by a
3D printed hydrogel coating that can be remodeled by surrounding cells. The goal of this proposal is to test
our hypothesis that mechanical and biochemical cues provided by vECM drive cellular organization and
structure of the healthy vagina and can be replicated in a mechanically competent biomimetic POP repair
graft. This hypothesis will be tested via experi-mental techniques in biomechanics, imaging, additive
manufacturing, and bioreactor cell culture. Aim 1 will fur-ther define the relationship between vaginal elasticity
and vECM proteins and produce an elastomeric mesh that minimizes pathologic myofibroblast transformation
by mimicry of vECM fiber mechanics. This aim will be achieved through vECM elasticity profiling, 3D
printing of biocompatible elastomers to form a mesh with similar mechanical properties, and assessment of
cellular response to this mesh in a tension bioreactor. Aim 2 will define tissue-specific cell adhesion
dynamics and produce a composite 3D printed material capable of partial degradation embedded with
physiologic distributions of key extracellular matrix proteins to promote cell adhe-sion. This aim will be
achieved via microscopy and proteomic analysis of vECM, 3D printing of a partially de-gradable coating
mimicking vECM microstructure and protein distribution, and assessment of cellular adhesion to this coating
in a tension bioreactor. The work detailed through this proposal will answer critical questions regarding the
structure-function properties of vECM and produce two novel materials with therapeutic potential for POP
repair when used together or separately as potential enhancements to commercially available materials. This
research is inspire...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10465990
- **Project number:** 1F30HD108976-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Morgan Lee Egnot
- **Activity code:** F30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $48,041
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-07-01 → 2026-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10465990

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10465990, Development of a Novel Bioinspired Pelvic Organ Prolapse Repair Graft (1F30HD108976-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10465990. Licensed CC0.

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