Scaffolds for cervical tissue engineering

Normal function of the cervix is critical to a healthy pregnancy. Abnormal cervical function can lead to preterm birth, which is a significant problem in both developing and developed countries. When the cervix fails prematurely, it leads to a clinical condition termed cervical insufficiency. In pregnancies affected by cervical insufficiency, the cervix dilates painlessly, which causes a preterm birth. Treatment options for cervical insufficiency (e.g., cerclage) and cervical shortening (e.g., progesterone supplementation) are not effective in all patients, and many patients with optimal treatment progress to a preterm birth. In this chapter, we discuss tissue engineering scaffolds (1) to study remodeling of the cervical stroma and (2) to repair cervical tissue in pregnancies at risk for preterm birth because of cervical insufficiency. In addition, tissue engineering of the cervix has not been limited to clinical conditions related to pregnancy. Several scaffold-free approaches for generating 3D cancer models of the cervix are reviewed.