Identification of Cells with Colony-Forming Activity, Self-Renewal Capacity, and Multipotency in Ovarian Endometriosis

Rachel Chan, Rachel Wah Shan Chan, Ernest Hung Yu Ng, William S.B. Yeung, William Shu Biu Yeung, Yeung WS
The American journal of pathology · 2011 · vol. 178(6) , pp. 2832–2844 · doi:10.1016/j.ajpath.2011.02.025 · PMID:21641404 · PMC3123988 · W2083418262
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Researchers identified cells within ovarian endometriosis lesions that possess characteristics of stem cells, including the ability to form colonies, self-renew, and differentiate into multiple cell types.

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Abstract

Endometriosis, the growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity, is a common gynecological disorder affecting 10% to 15% of women in their reproductive years. Retrograde menstrual shedding containing endometrial stem/progenitor cells has been postulated to be involved in its pathogenesis. In this study, we identified putative endometriotic stem/progenitor cells by their colony-forming potential, self-renewal capacity, and multipotency. Purified epithelial and stromal cells isolated from ovarian endometriotic cysts formed large and small colony-forming units (CFUs) in clonogenic assay. The colony-forming activity of epithelial and stromal cells was found to differ greatly between autologous endometrium and ovarian endometrioma samples. The large CFUs could propagate more than the small CFUs. The endometriotic epithelial small CFUs expressed epithelial markers (epithelial cell adhesion molecule, cytokeratin, and α6 integrin); only occasional large CFUs expressed α6 integrin. Aside from the expression of fibroblast markers, stromal CFUs also expressed three somatic stem cell markers: sal-like 4, CD133, and Musashi-1. Endometriotic stromal cells derived from large CFUs could differentiate into four mesenchymal lineages when cultured in the respective inducing-media, as determined by histochemical staining and RT-PCR of lineage specific markers. These findings demonstrate that ovarian endometrioma contains a subset of cells displaying somatic stem cell properties.

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Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Multipotent Stem Cells Ovary Stem Cells Adult Cell Differentiation Cell Lineage Cell Proliferation Cell Shape Clone Cells Endometriosis Endometrium Endometrium Epithelial Cells Epithelial Cells Female Humans Immunohistochemistry Mesoderm Mesoderm

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