Proliferative and morphogenic changes induced by the coculture of rat uterine and peritoneal cells: a cell culture model for endometriosis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the proliferative and morphogenic effects induced by the coculture of uterine and peritoneal cells to establish a cell culture model for endometriosis. DESIGN: Uterine epithelial and stromal cells and peritoneal mesothelial and subserosal cells were cocultured with homologous cell types, heterologous cell types, or as isolated populations using a bicameral chamber design. SETTING: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri. ANIMALS: Cells isolated and purified from five mature female Sprague Dawley rats of normal reproductive status were used to establish cell cultures. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Cell proliferation (deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis) was measured by the incorporation of 3H-thymidine, and cell morphology was assessed using inverted phase-contrast microscopy. RESULTS: Peritoneal mesothelial cells augmented proliferation and induced cellular aggregation of uterine stromal cell monolayers. Peritoneal subserosal cells amplified proliferation and induced an irregular, compacted morphology in uterine epithelial cells. The proliferation and morphology of the two peritoneal cell types was not altered by uterine cell coculture. CONCLUSIONS: The coculture of uterine and peritoneal cells in bicameral chambers provides a tool to study the paracrine interactions of cells that comprise the endometriotic lesion. The altered proliferation and morphology of the uterine cells may be related to the histologic and biochemical asynchrony observed between uterine endometrium and ectopic endometriotic tissue in vivo and offers insight into possible mechanisms of the histogenesis of endometriosis.