Characterisation of mesenchymal stromal cells in the postmenopausal endometrium

Background: Recently MSC have been identified in the regenerative endometrial lining of the uterus and specific markers (W5C5/SUSD2) for their prospective isolation identified. Postmenopausal endometrium is atrophic but regenerates with systemic estrogen treatment and has even lead to a successful IVF pregnancy in a 64 year old woman. The aim of this study was to determine whether postmenopausal endometrium contains a population of endometrial MSC (eMSC) that might be responsible for its regenerative capacity which could be exploited for future clinical applications. We hypothesized that eMSC are present in postmenopausal endometrium at similar frequency as in premenopausal endometrium.