Sizing-up Nests

Around 1 in 8 pregnancies end in miscarriage. For pregnancy to take hold, the womb and embryo need to interact successfully during implantation. Researchers have investigated this in mice using a novel method 3DMOUSEneST — a type of microscopy called label-free higher harmonic generation. With this implantation could be imaged in 3D, homing in on the formation of the decidual nest – a structure along the inner womb lining that helps the embryo attach – and on the growing embryo and structures that support it. Using mice genetically engineered to have implantation defects, the team found that decidual nest volume indicates the likelihood of early pregnancy progressing, with higher volumes seen in healthy mouse embryos (pictured, left column) compared with the defective model mice (remaining columns). This provides a new tool to investigate fertility issues and embryo death in a mouse model.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

Lux Fatimathas

Writer

Having pursued science through a career in research, communications and publishing, she is currently a writer and editor for a healthcare marketing agency and also juggles freelance science writing.

• Image from work by Audrey Savolainen and colleagues
• Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in Development, August 2024