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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 3: Tissue Mechanics I
BP 3.11: Vortrag
Montag, 9. März 2026, 12:30–12:45, BAR/0205
A mechanical origin for implantation defects in embryos from aged females — Kate E. Cavanaugh1,2, •Maria-Jose Franco-Oñate3,4, Diana J. Laird5, Patrick W. Oakes6, Ricard Alert3,4,7, and Orion D. Weiner1,2 — 1Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco, USA — 2Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, USA — 3Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany — 4Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Germany — 5Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, USA — 6Department of Cell and Molecular Physiology, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, IL USA — 7Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, TU Dresden, Germany
Women over 35 experience reduced fertility, linked to impaired embryo implantation. In mouse embryos from aged mothers, we observe defective spreading of the extra-embryonic tissue. To uncover the mechanism, we use a continuum model that treats the tissue as a droplet of active polar fluid. Fitting the model to experimental data shows that increased tissue surface tension and viscosity in aged embryos account for the impaired spreading. Experimental measurements of forces and spreading dynamics confirm that these mechanical changes are sufficient to explain the implantation defect. This work shows how physical modeling of embryo mechanics can quantitatively predict implantation success and guide embryo selection in Assisted Reproductive Technologies.
Keywords: modeling; continuum mechanics; tissue morphogenesis; reproductive ageing; implantation