Effect of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells transplantation on nerve fibers of a rat model of endometriosis.
BACKGROUND
Endometriosis is a common, benign, oestrogen-dependent, chronic gynaecological disorder associated with pelvic pain and infertility. Some researchers have identiﬁed nerve ﬁbers in endometriotic lesions in women with endometriosis. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have attracted interest for their possible use for both cell and gene therapies because of their capacity for self-renewal and multipotentiality of differentiation. We investigated how human umbilical cord-MSCs (hUC-MSCs) could affect nerve ﬁbers density in endometriosis.


METHODS
In this experimental study, hUC-MSCs were isolated from fresh human umbilical cord, characterized by flow cytometry, and then transplanted into surgically induced endometriosis in a rat model. Ectopic endometrial implants were collected four weeks later. The specimens were sectioned and stained immunohistochemically with antibodies against neuroﬁlament (NF), nerve growth factor (NGF), NGF receptor p75 (NGFRp75), tyrosine kinase receptor-A (Trk-A), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and substance P (SP) to compare the presence of different types of nerve ﬁbers between the treatment group with the transplantation of hUC-MSCs and the control group without the transplantation of hUC-MSCs.


RESULTS
There were significantly less nerve fibers stained with specific markers we used in the treatment group than in the control group (p<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
MSC from human umbilical cord reduced nerve ﬁber density in the treatment group with the transplantation of hUC-MSCs.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, China.
Yan
Y
Chen
Cryomedicine Laboratory, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China.
Dong
D
Li
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China.
Zhe
Z
Zhang
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
Natsuko
N
Takushige
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China.
Bei-Hua
BH
Kong
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China.
Guo-Yun
GY
Wang
Endometriosis; Immunohistochemistry; Mesenchymal Stem Cells; Nerve Fibers