Original Article Effect of Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells Transplantation on Nerve Fibers of A Rat Model of Endometriosis

Background: Endometriosis is a common, benign, oestrogen-dependent, chronic gy-naecological disorder associated with pelvic pain and infertility. Some researchers have identified nerve fibers in endometriotic lesions in women with endometriosis. Mesen-chymal stem cells (MSCs) have attracted interest for their possible use for both cell and gene therapies because of their capacity for self-renewal and multipotentiality of differ-entiation. We investigated how human umbilical cord-MSCs (hUC-MSCs) could affect nerve fibers density in endometriosis. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, hUC-MSCs were isolated from fresh human umbilical cord, characterized by flow cytometry, and then transplanted into surgically induced endometriosis in a rat model. Ectopic endometrial implants were col-lected four weeks later. The specimens were sectioned and stained immunohistochemi-cally with antibodies against neurofilament (NF), nerve growth factor (NGF), NGF receptor p75 (NGFRp75), tyrosine kinase receptor-A (Trk-A), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and substance P (SP) to compare the presence of different types of nerve