Admin. Supplement for Reverse Engineering the Extracellular Neighborhood to Support the Functional Tissue Unit: A Use Case to Restore Ovarian Function

NIH RePORTER · NIH · U01 · $150,000 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Static human biomolecular atlases miss dimensionality that is critical for establishing the healthy condition. We are uniquely positioned with rare resources and expertise to fill in these dimensions and enhance the healthy human ovary HuBMAP data. Here, we will contribute the developmental dimension by defining the change in interstitial cells across the pubertal transition; we will create the spatial dimension by probing the biochemical and physical cues of the extracellular matrix (ECM) across anatomical compartments and functional cell unit neighborhoods, and we will create the temporal dimension by investigating the changes in functional cell units during ooplasm maturation and hormone production. Without these added dimensions, the HuBMAP datasets are less effective in identifying and understanding disease modalities. Our long-term goal is to increase the utility of the ovary atlas using existing and new datasets to inform regenerative medicine technologies that improve the safety, efficacy and longevity of fertility and hormone restoration options for patients with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), a disease that occurs in approximately 1% of women in the USA. Individuals with POI have a reduced quality of life and life expectancy of ~ 2 years shorter from comorbidities that include cognitive and cardiovascular diseases. We will incorporate data from the University of Pennsylvania (UPENN) HuBMAP Tissue Mapping Center (TMC) and the University of Michigan (UM) Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Human Cell Atlas (HCA) multiome maps of healthy adult ovaries. The Vanderbilt University Biomolecular Multimodal Imaging Center (BIOMIC) developed imaging and biocomputational analysis pipelines that enable 3D multimodel reconstruction and molecular profiling. Additionally, we have generated ECM and associated protein maps on model and human ovaries, in collaboration with the Northwestern University (NU) HuBMAP Rapid Technology Implementation (RTI) center. Finally, we have developed engineering tools, such as scaffolds that support ovarian follicles and protocols to make ovarian hormone-producing cells from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). These resources and collaborations will provide valuable tissue and functional unit insights and, combined with our expertise in tissue engineering, will enable us to reverse engineer the extracellular neighborhood that supports ovarian follicle growth to improve fertility and hormone restoration options. We will (1) add developmental and spatial dimensions to the human ovary atlas to identify changes in the neighborhood that impact folliculogenesis, (2) demonstrate the utility of the HuBMAP data and tools to address important biological questions within the ovary and reverse engineer a neighborhood that supports follicle growth, and (3) reverse engineer a personalized ovarian hormone-replacement therapy from human iPSCs by defining and validating the response of cells to ECM envir...

Key facts

NIH application ID
10814646
Project number
3U01HD110336-02S1
Recipient
LURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF CHICAGO
Principal Investigator
Monica M Laronda
Activity code
U01
Funding institute
NIH
Fiscal year
2023
Award amount
$150,000
Award type
3
Project period
2022-08-24 → 2026-07-31