| As a refractory fibrosis disease,intrauterine adhesions(IUA)is defined as the physiological endometrium becomes fibrosed.Although the hysteroscopic adhesiolysis is widely recommended as an effective treatment,the prognosis and recurrence remains poor in severe cases.Recently,stem cell therapy has been promoted up as a promising treatment for IUA.Human amniotic epithelial cells(hAECs),emerging as a new candidate for stem cell therapy,have not been demonstrated as able to treat IUA.To study their potential effects of hAECs on IUA,we created an IUA rat model using mechanical injury and injected cultured primary hAECs into the rats’ uteri.Next,we observed the morphological structure of endometrial thickness and glands using hematoxylin and eosin(H&E)staining,and we detected extracellular-matrix(ECM)collagen deposition using Masson staining.In addition,we performed immunohistochemical staining and reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR)to investigate potential fibrosis molecules and angiogenesis factors seven days after hAECs transplantation.Finally,we detected estrogen receptor(ER)and growth factors were detected via RT-PCR to verify the molecular mechanism underlying cell therapy.Compared with IUA rat models,endometrial thickness and endometrial glands proliferated and collagen deposition decreased significantly after hAECs transplantation.We found that during the recovery of injured endometrium,the crucial fibrosis marker transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β)was regulated and angiogenesis occurred in the endometrial tissue with the up-regulation of vascular endothelial growthfactor(VEGF).Furthermore,hAECs were shown to promote ER expression in the endometrium and regulate the inflammatory reaction in the uterine microenvironment.In conclusion,these results demonstrated that hAECs transplantation could inhibit the progression of fibrosis and promote proliferation and angiogenesis in IUA rat models.The current study suggests hAECs as a novel stem cell candidate in the treatment of severe IUA. |
