Establishment and Histological Observation of a New Mouse Model of Subcutaneous Endometriosis

Objective To establish a ICR mouse model of subcutaneous endometriosis and study its histological features.Methods Uterine samples to be inoculated were obtained from syngenic mice used as donor mice. Endometriosis was surgically induced in 24 ICR mice(2 groups) by placing or injecting into subcutaneous tissue,respectively.Three weeks after implantation the ectopic endometrium was measured and a half of the ectopic endometrium and uterus was taken for histological examination.Six weeks after implantation the rest mice were killed and the ectopic endometrium was measured and samples were taken for microscopic examination.Results There were 33.33% and 83.33% of the mice in the implantation and injection groups developed endometriosis,respectively(P0.01).The inner wall of the cyst had endometrial epithelial cells,and it altered consistently with the menstrual cycle of the normal endometrium.The cyst enlarged gradually at first and had a contraction tendency afterwards(P0.05).Conclusion A subcutaneous model of endometriosis in ICR mice has been established by injecting the endometrium from syngenic donor mice into subcutaneous tissue.The ectopic endometrium changes correspondingly to the reproductive cycle,and exerts physiological functions alike the normal endometrium.It is a convenient and successful method to generate an animal model for researches on endometriosis and drug development.