This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on ISI (25)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related articles  • Similar articles in JAMA  Topic Collections  • Transplantation  • Bone Marrow Transplantation  • Women's Health, Other  • Alert me on articles by topic

Hugh S. Taylor, MD

JAMA. 2004;292:81-85.

Context  Regeneration of the endometrium in each menstrual cycle is required for reproduction. Endogenous endometrial stem cells reside in the basalis layer and serve as a source of cells that differentiate to form the endometrium. Bone marrow–derived cells have been shown to take on functions outside the hematopoietic system.

Objective  To investigate the possibility that cells of extrauterine origin could repopulate the endometrium.

Design, Setting, and Patients  Endometrium from 4 HLA-mismatched bone marrow transplant recipients (1998-2002) was evaluated for donor HLA expression. Each recipient had a bone marrow donor with an HLA type that enabled determination of the origin of any cell. Endometrial biopsies also were obtained from 4 healthy control women.

Main Outcome Measure  HLA type was determined by immunohistochemistry and by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction.

Results  Donor-derived endometrial cells were detected in endometrial biopsy samples from all bone marrow recipients and accounted for 0.2% to 48% of epithelial cells and 0.3% to 52% of stromal cells. None of the controls demonstrated HLA mismatch in endometrial samples.

Conclusion  These findings demonstrate that endometrial cells can originate from donor-derived bone marrow cells and suggest that nonuterine stem cells contribute to the regeneration of endometrial tissue.

Author Affiliation: Division of Reproductive Endocrinology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn.

RELATED ARTICLES

Stem Cell Transfer and the Uterus: The Egg Teaches the Chicken
Mary Lake Polan and Mylene W. M. Yao
JAMA. 2004;292(1):104-105.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Transfer of Fetal Cells With Multilineage Potential to Maternal Tissue
Kiarash Khosrotehrani, Kirby L. Johnson, Dong Hyun Cha, Robert N. Salomon, and Diana W. Bianchi
JAMA. 2004;292(1):75-80.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Gender Differences in Endothelial Progenitor Cells and Cardiovascular Risk Profile: The Role of Female Estrogens
Fadini et al.
Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Bio. 2008;28:997-1004.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Characterization of clonogenic stromal cells isolated from human endometrium
Dimitrov et al.
Reproduction 2008;135:551-558.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Endometrial endothelial cells are derived from donor stem cells in a bone marrow transplant recipient
Mints et al.
Hum Reprod 2008;23:139-143.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Co-expression of two perivascular cell markers isolates mesenchymal stem-like cells from human endometrium
Schwab and Gargett
Hum Reprod 2007;22:2903-2911.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

CD45-Positive Blood Cells Give Rise to Uterine Epithelial Cells in Mice
Bratincsak et al.
Stem Cells 2007;25:2820-2826.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Demonstration of Multipotent Stem Cells in the Adult Human Endometrium by In Vitro Chondrogenesis
Wolff et al.
Reproductive Sciences 2007;14:524-533.
ABSTRACT  

Contribution of Bone Marrow-Derived Stem Cells to Endometrium and Endometriosis
Du and Taylor
Stem Cells 2007;25:2082-2086.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Review Article: Stem Cells in Human Reproduction
Gargett
Reproductive Sciences 2007;14:405-424.
ABSTRACT  

Estrogen and the endometrium: lessons learned from gene expression profiling in rodents and human
Groothuis et al.
Hum Reprod Update 2007;13:405-417.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Uterine stem cells: What is the evidence?
Gargett
Hum Reprod Update 2007;13:87-101.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Endocrine Regulation of HOX Genes
Daftary and Taylor
Endocr. Rev. 2006;27:331-355.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Thrombin and Interleukin-1{beta} Regulate HOXA10 Expression in Human Term Decidual Cells: Implications for Preterm Labor
Sarno et al.
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2006;91:2366-2372.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Identification of Label-Retaining Cells in Mouse Endometrium
Chan and Gargett
Stem Cells 2006;24:1529-1538.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Oct-4 expression in human endometrium
Matthai et al.
Mol Hum Reprod 2006;12:7-10.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Stem Cell Transfer and the Uterus: The Egg Teaches the Chicken
Polan and Yao
JAMA 2004;292:104-105.
FULL TEXT