Development of properly-polarized trophoblast stem cell-derived organoids to model early human pregnancy.

Unlabelled: The development of human trophoblast stem cells (hTSC) and stem cell-derived trophoblast organoids has enabled investigation of placental physiology and disease and early maternal-fetal interactions during a stage of human pregnancy that previously had been severely restricted. A key shortcoming in existing trophoblast organoid methodologies is the non-physiologic position of the syncytiotrophoblast (STB) within the inner portion of the organoid, which neither recapitulates placental villous morphology nor allows for facile modeling of STB exposure to the endometrium or the contents of the intervillous space. Here we have successfully established properly-polarized human trophoblast stem cell (hTSC)-sourced organoids with STB forming on the surface of the organoid.

Temporal dynamics of muscle optical properties during degeneration and regeneration in a canine muscle xenograft model.

We studied time-dependent changes in muscle optical properties during degeneration and regeneration using polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PSOCT). Excised canine muscle transplants in a xenograft mouse model were imaged from 3- to 112-day post-transplantation. PSOCT images were quantified to evaluate post-transplantation changes of three optical/structural properties: attenuation, birefringence and fiber alignment.