A high-throughput 96-well plate method to measure human uterine contractility

Uterine smooth muscle dysfunction is a common factor in many gynecological conditions, such as endometriosis, adenomyosis, dysmenorrhea, infertility, and labor dystocia. Here, we present a novel high-throughput, optical, low-cost, 96-well plate-based method for measuring ex-vivo uterine contractility. We validate this new method on non-pregnant human myometrial samples obtained from hysterectomies by systematically comparing contraction frequency, amplitude, and duration with the standard isometric force transducer approach. We illustrate the potential of this method by screening 8 different compounds, including hormones and pharmacological agents. In particular, we found that antagonists of T-type calcium channels (Z944) and chloride channels (benzbromarone) both decreased contractility in the non-pregnant human uterus. This method will accelerate the pharmacological development of myometrium-specific relaxing agents and provide a powerful tool to investigate the dysregulation of myogenic contractility in gynecological pathologies.