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Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Two Methods for Establishing Primary Human Endometrial Stromal Cells from Hysterectomy Specimens
Published on: May 23, 2014
Ovarian steroid hormones differentially regulate thrombospondin-1 expression in cultured endometrial stromal cells:
Xian-Jie Tan1, Jing-He Lang, Wei-Ming Zheng
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China. tanxj_pumch@yahoo.com
Abstract:
Thrombospondin-1 messenger RNA and protein levels in cultured human endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) treated with 17-beta estradiol (10 nM) were reduced by 47.6% (+/-6.5% SD; P < 0.05) and 49.0% (+/-8.6%; P < 0.05) compared with untreated cells, whereas thrombospondin-1mRNA and protein levels in ESCs treated with progesterone (10 microM) were 2.1-fold (+/-0.4 SD; P < 0.05) and 2.3-fold (+/-0.6; P < 0.05) higher than those in untreated cells. These findings not only provide evidence for the estrogen dependence of endometriosis, but also partly explain the mechanisms by which progestins exert their therapeutic activities in endometriosis.
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