Endometrial stem/progenitor cells: the first 10 years
Background:The existence of stem/progenitor cells in the endometrium was postulated many years ago, but the first functional evidence was only published in 2004. The identification of rare epithelial and stromal populations of clonogenic cells in human endometrium has opened an active area of research on endometrial stem/progenitor cells in the subsequent 10 years.
Methods:The published literature was searched using the PubMed database with the search terms ‘endometrial stem cells and menstrual blood stem cells’ until December 2014.
Results: Endometrial epithelial stem/progenitor cells have been identified as clonogenic cells in human and as label-retaining or CD44+ cells in mouse endometrium, but their characterization has been modest. In contrast,endometrial mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) have been well characterized and show similar properties to bone marrow MSCs. Specific markers for their enrichment have been identified, CD146+ PDGFRb+ (platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta) and SUSD2+ (sushi domain containing-2), which detected their perivascular location and likely pericyte identity in endometrial basalis and functionalis vessels. Transcriptomics and secretomics of SUSD2+ cells confirm their perivascular phenotype. Stromal fibroblasts cultured from endometrial tissue or menstrual blood also have some MSC characteristics and demonstrate broad multilineage differentiation potential for mesodermal, endodermal and ectodermal lineages, indicating their plasticity.
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