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Updated: May 1, 2026
Isolation of Human Endometrial Stromal Cells for In Vitro Decidualization
Published on: September 1, 2018
Requirement of heart and neural crest derivatives-expressed transcript 2 during decidualization of human endometrial
Hisayuu Shindoh1, Hidetaka Okada1, Tomoko Tsuzuki1
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kansai Medical University, Osaka, Japan.
Objective:
To investigate the role of heart and neural crest derivatives-expressed transcript 2 (HAND2) during decidualization of human endometrial stromal cells (ESCs).
Design:
In vitro experiment.
Setting:
Research laboratory.
Patient(S):
Twenty-six patients undergoing hysterectomy for benign reasons.
Intervention(S):
ESCs were cultured for 12 days with HAND2 small interfering RNA (siRNA) or nonsilencing RNA during decidualization by medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) and E2.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Decidualization was monitored by changes in cellular morphology and the expression of several decidual-specific genes.
Result(S):
HAND2 siRNA effectively suppressed HAND2 levels in ESCs after 12 days of E2 + MPA treatment. ESCs cultured with HAND2 siRNA retained a long fibroblast-like shape, whereas the cells cultured with control siRNA transformed into enlarged polygonal cells. Silencing of HAND2 expression significantly reduced connexin-43 involved in the morphologic changes. HAND2 silencing significantly reduced the mRNA levels of fibulin-1, prolactin, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 3, interleukin-15, and forkhead box O1A (FOXO1A), but had no effect on the mRNA levels of dickkopf-1, serum glucocorticoid kinase 1, and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 5. HAND2 siRNA effectively suppressed the levels of nuclear FOXO1A protein as a regulator of decidualization.
Conclusion(S):
These results suggest that HAND2 plays a key role in the regulation of progestin-induced decidualization of human ESCs.
