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Updated: May 27, 2026
Isolation of Mouse Endometrial Epithelial and Stromal Cells for In Vitro Decidualization
Published on: March 2, 2017
A study in vitro on differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells into endometrial epithelial cells in mice
Wen-Bi Zhang1, Ming-Jun Cheng, Yu-Ting Huang
1Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Shanghai Medical School, and Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, PR China.
Objective:
To investigate the differentiation conditions of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) into endometrial epithelial cells and to confirm the effect of 17β-estradiol in this process.
Study Design:
BMSCs were cultured alone or co-cultured with endometrial stromal cells (EStCs) in control/differentiation medium (17β-estradiol, growth factors) and were co-cultured with EStCs in different concentrations of 17β-estradiol. Flow cytometry and immunocytochemistry were used to identify the isolated cells. Real-time RT-PCR and immunofluorescence were used to test the expression of epithelial cell markers.
Results:
The epithelial markers cytokeratin-7, cytokeratin-18, cytokeratin-19, and epithelial membrane antigen were elevated in real-time RT-PCR (P<0.05), and cytokeratin was strongly positive in immunofluorescence analysis in the differentiated BMSCs. Cytokeratin-7 and cytokeratin-19 expression levels were highest in the 1 × 10⁻⁸ mol/L 17β-estradiol group, as shown in real-time RT-PCR (P<0.05).
Conclusion:
BMSCs could be differentiated in the direction of endometrial epithelial cells in appropriate conditions in vitro: 17β-estradiol may play a key role in stimulating BMSCs' epithelial differentiation in the process of endometriosis.
Condensation:
Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells can differentiate in the direction of endometrial epithelial cells in a certain microenvironment and appropriate concentration of 17β-E₂ can facilitate this differentiation.
