CD45-positive blood cells give rise to uterine epithelial cells in mice.
The uterine endometrium is composed of epithelial and stromal cells, which undergo extensive degeneration and regeneration in every estrous cycle, and dramatic changes occur during pregnancy. The high turnover of cells requires a correspondingly high level of cell division by progenitor cells in the uterus, but the character and source of these cells remain obscure. In the present study, using a novel transgenic mouse, we showed that CD45-positive hematopoietic progenitor cells colonize the uterine epithelium and that in pregnancy more than 80% of the epithelium can derive from these cells. Since we also found green fluorescent protein (GFP)-positive uterine endothelial cells in long-term GFP bone marrow-transplanted mice, we conclude that circulating CD45+ cells play an important role in regenerating the uterine epithelium.
National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
András
A
Bratincsák
Michael J
MJ
Brownstein
Riccardo
R
Cassiani-Ingoni
Sandra
S
Pastorino
Ildikó
I
Szalayova
Zsuzsanna E
ZE
Tóth
Sharon
S
Key
Krisztián
K
Németh
James
J
Pickel
Eva
E
Mezey
D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D011247:Pregnancy; D014599:Uterus / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology
D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens