Hormone and growth factor signaling in endometrial renewal: Role of stem/progenitor cells

Caroline E. Gargett, Rachel Chan, Rachel W S Chan, Kjiana E. Schwab, Schwab KE
Molecular and cellular endocrinology · 2008 · vol. 288(1-2) , pp. 22–29 · doi:10.1016/j.mce.2008.02.026 · PMID:18403104 · W2013443881
review OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 41 in-corpus citations
View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by gemini-2.5-flash-lite, 2026-06-09 ⓘ

This paper investigates the roles of hormone and growth factor signaling pathways in endometrial renewal, focusing on the contribution of stem and progenitor cells.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

The human endometrium is a dynamic remodeling tissue undergoing more than 400 cycles of regeneration, differentiation and shedding during a woman's reproductive years. The co-ordinated and sequential actions of estrogen and progesterone direct these major remodeling events preparing a receptive endometrium for blastocyst implantation on a monthly basis. Adult stem/progenitor cells are likely responsible for endometrial regeneration. Functional approaches have been used to identify candidate endometrial stem/progenitor cells, as there are no specific stem cell markers. Rare populations of human endometrial epithelial and stromal colony-forming cells/units (CFU) and side population (SP) cells have been identified. Several growth factors are required for CFU activity: epidermal growth factor (EGF), transforming growth factor alpha (TGFalpha) and platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB) for both epithelial and stromal CFU, and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) for stromal, but not epithelial CFU. A sub-population of human endometrial stromal cells with mesenchymal stem cell properties of CFU activity and multilineage (fat, muscle, cartilage and bone) differentiation have been isolated by their co-expression of CD146 and PDGF-receptor beta. Candidate epithelial and stromal stem/progenitor cells have been identified in mouse endometrium as rare label retaining cells (LRCs) in the luminal epithelium and as perivascular cells at the endometrial-myometrial junction, respectively. While epithelial and most stromal LRC do not express estrogen receptor alpha (Esr1), they rapidly proliferate on estrogen stimulation, most likely mediated by neighbouring Esr1-expressing niche cells. It is likely that these newly identified endometrial stem/progenitor cells may play key roles in the development of gynecological diseases associated with abnormal endometrial proliferation such as endometriosis and endometrial cancer.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

MeSH descriptors

Endometrium Hormones Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins Signal Transduction Stem Cells Animals Endometrium Female Genital Diseases, Female Genital Diseases, Female Hormones Humans Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins Stem Cells

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (79)

Cited by (39)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-09-15T06:16:59.523076+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-05-13T22:14:36.758325+00:00
unpaywall
last seen: 2026-09-15T06:33:26.365676+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK