Integrin-Activating Peptides for Embryo Implantation Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fertility treatments effectively increase the chances of sperm and egg meeting but fail to enhance the subsequent implantation process, which is negatively affected by aging, leading to low embryo implantation rates, and there is a lack of effective medicaments and screening systems to improve this process.
Innovation Solution
Development of a medicament containing peptides that activate integrins, combined with an artificial uterus system comprising a hydrogel and endometrial stromal cells, to simulate the implantation environment for reliable evaluation and enhancement of embryo implantation rates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If existing fertility treatments are used to increase chances of sperm and egg meeting, then fertilization success is improved, but implantation rate deteriorates due to aging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-treating the endometrium with specific medicaments (such as integrin activators, prostaglandins, or natural killer cell inhibitors) before embryo transfer to optimize the implantation environment. This preparatory treatment of the uterine lining ensures that when the embryo arrives, the endometrium is already in an optimal state to receive and support the embryo, thereby improving implantation rates independently of the fertilization process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses intermediary substances such as integrin activators, prostaglandins, and immunosuppressants as mediators between the embryo and the endometrium. These intermediaries facilitate the attachment and invasion processes by modulating cellular interactions, reducing immune rejection, and promoting endometrial receptivity, thereby bridging the gap between fertilization success and successful implantation.
2Ease of operation
If implantation process is left to nature without intervention, then treatment simplicity is maintained, but implantation rate deteriorates with aging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying specific biochemical and immunological parameters of the endometrial environment through pharmacological intervention. By adjusting parameters such as integrin activation levels, prostaglandin concentrations, and natural killer cell activity, the treatment optimizes endometrial receptivity parameters to match the embryo's implantation requirements, thereby improving implantation rates while maintaining relatively simple administration protocols.
3Measurement precision
If screening system for implantation medicaments is established, then medicament evaluation reliability is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential implantation-related functions and parameters from the complex in vivo implantation process to create a simplified in vitro screening model. By isolating key elements such as endometrial cell cultures, specific receptor expressions, and critical biochemical interactions, the screening system captures the fundamental mechanisms of implantation response without requiring the full complexity of the natural system, thereby achieving reliable medicament evaluation with reduced complexity.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1F
Figure 2~3
Figure 4A~4B
AI summary
The present invention provides a medicament which can improve the implantation rate of an embryo and can be used in combination with an existing medicament used in the treatment of infertility, a screening method by which such a medicament can be reliably evaluated, etc. More specifically, provided is an integrin activator comprising: (1) a peptide consisting of KFEEERMRCKWMT; (2) a peptide consisting of KFEEERSRCKWMT; (3) in (1) or (2), a peptide consisting of an amino acid sequence having one to three amino acids deleted, substituted and/or added thereto; or (4) in any one of (1) to (3), a peptide having a membrane-permeable molecule bound thereto. Provided are: an artificial uterus comprising a hydrogel which contains endometrial stromal cells and has extracellular matrix as a main component, and a uterine epithelial organoid which is arranged so as to be surrounded by said hydrogel; and a screening method using an implantation reproduction experimental system using a fertilized egg (e.g., an embryo which has been developed to a blastocyst to be implanted).