UV irradiation induces apoptosis in the human endometrial stromal cell line (ThESC).

PURPOSE: The treatment options of endometrial hyperplasia consist of surgical, interventional and medical therapies including apoptosis-inducing agents. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on the viability and the type of cell death on the human endometrial stromal cells (ThESC) line. METHODS: We investigated the effect of UV exposure on human endometrial stromal cell line (ThESC) on cell viability using MTT assay as well as changes in cell morphology using phase microscopy and acridine orange (AO)/ethidium bromide (EB) cell staining. RESULTS: UV treatment significantly decreased the percentage of the viable ThESC cells compared to the viability of untreated control cells using MTT assay (p<0.05). In addition, UV treatment of ThESC cells for 60 and 90 min induced high level of cell morphology disruption, followed with loss of both the cell shape and the presence of defragmented debris and stained with intense red color. CONCLUSIONS: The obtained results suggest the potential role of UV light application as additional treatment option of benign endometrium hyperplasia alone or in combination with other treatment modalities.