Measuring oxytocin-driven contractions in lab-grown 3D uterine muscle
Official title: Quantitating Oxytocin-induced Contractility in Bioengineered 3D Human Myometrium
Funded at Texas Engineering Experiment Station · NIH-11289385 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project builds a lab-grown three-dimensional uterine muscle from patient cells to learn how different doses and durations of oxytocin cause contractions in people at term.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Texas Engineering Experiment Station NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (College Station, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2025 |
| Project end | March 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $185,296 |
| NIH project number | 5R21HD118295-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11289385 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal contributors are people delivering at term (≥37 weeks) who can consent to donate small myometrial tissue samples, for example during cesarean or planned abdominal delivery.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not pregnant, who cannot donate tissue, or whose conditions are unrelated to uterine contractility are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
Researchers will grow a 3D human myometrium in the lab using smooth muscle cells taken from people delivering at term. They will expose the bioengineered tissue to varying oxytocin doses and durations and directly measure the force of contraction using organ-bath style methods. This aims to reproduce real muscle mechanics rather than relying on indirect collagen assays and to clarify how dose and exposure influence contractile response. The work could inform safer, more precise oxytocin use in labor and after birth.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help clinicians choose oxytocin doses and timing that reduce unnecessary cesareans and postpartum bleeding.
How similar studies have gone: Previous organ-bath and cell-culture studies have measured uterine contractility, but creating a patient-derived 3D myometrium to directly measure force is novel and largely untested.
Where this research is happening
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Texas Engineering Experiment Station
College Station, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Raghavan, Shreya a. — Texas Engineering Experiment Station
- Study coordinator: Raghavan, Shreya a.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.