Human mesenchymal stem cells in spheroids improve fertility in model animals with damaged endometrium

Abstract Background Asherman’s syndrome (AS) is one of the gynecological disorders caused by the destruction of the endometrium. For some cases of AS available surgical methods and hormonal therapy are ineffective. Stem cell transplantation may offer a potential alternative for AS cure. Methods Huma...

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Main Authors: Alisa Domnina, Polina Novikova, Julia Obidina, Irina Fridlyanskaya, Larisa Alekseenko, Irina Kozhukharova, Olga Lyublinskaya, Valeriy Zenin, Nikolay Nikolsky
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2018-02-01
Series:Stem Cell Research & Therapy
Subjects:
Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13287-018-0801-9
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Summary:Abstract Background Asherman’s syndrome (AS) is one of the gynecological disorders caused by the destruction of the endometrium. For some cases of AS available surgical methods and hormonal therapy are ineffective. Stem cell transplantation may offer a potential alternative for AS cure. Methods Human endometrial mesenchymal stem cells (eMSC) organized in spheroids were transplanted in rats with damaged endometrium modeled on AS. Treatment response was defined as pregnancy outcome and litter size. Results Application of eMSC in spheroids significantly improved the rat fertility with the AS model. eMSC organized in spheroids retain all properties of eMSC in monolayer: growth characteristics, expression of CD markers, and differentiation potential. Synthesis of angiogenic and anti-inflammatory factors drastically increased in eMSC assembled into spheroids. Conclusions Human endometrial mesenchymal stem cells (eMSC) can be successfully applied for Asherman’s syndrome (AS) treatment in the rat model. eMSC organized in spheroids were more therapeutically effective than the cells in monolayer. After transplantation of eMSC in spheroids the pregnancy outcome and litter size in rats with AS was higher than in rats that received autologous rat bone marrow cells. It suggests the therapeutic plausibility of heterologous eMSC in case of failure to use autologous cells.
ISSN:1757-6512