A novel nude mouse model for studying the pathogenesis of endometriosis

Abstract

Endometriosis is a common female gynecological disease that is characterized by the presence of functional endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity. At present, many animal models have been established. However, previous studies consistently use human endometrial tissue implanted in the subcutaneous or abdominal cavity for modeling and rarely use endometrial cells. In the present study, we ascertained whether immortalized stromal and/or epithelial endometrial cells are able to induce subcutaneous endometriosis in nude mice. Mixed human immortalized endometriosis stromal and epithelial cells, but not the cells of Group 1 or Group 2, were successfully constructed and led to endometriotic-like lesions. The endometriosis-like lesions observed in nude mice consisted of endometriosis-like glands lined with columnar epithelial cells and surrounded by stromal cells in the fibrous fatty connective tissue. Immunofluorescence analysis showed that glandular epithelial cells were intensely stained for E-cadherin and cytokeratin 7, and surrounding stromal cells were mildly stained for neprilysin (CD10) and vimentin. Moreover, the cells present in the endometriosis-like lesions were of human origin. Our data indicate that the mixture of human immortalized endometriosis stromal cells and epithelial cells is able to establish subcutaneous endometriosis lesions in nude mice. This model could be used to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in the occurrence and development of endometriosis.

Large animal models in the study of gynecological diseases

“…There are three main types of endometriosis: peritoneal endometriosis, ovarian endometriosis cysts, and deep infiltrating endometriosis ( Shafrir et al, 2018 ; Chapron et al, 2019 ; Lagana et al, 2019 ). Li et al (2022) were able to establish an endometriosis model in nude mice using a mixture of human immortalized endometriosis stromal cells and epithelial cells. The use of rodents to study this disease is not appropriate.…”

Impact of Chronic Exposure to Endometriosis on Perinatal Outcomes: Establishment of a Mouse Model

“…To date, various rodent models of endometriosis have been established to elucidate its pathophysiology [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ] and to test the efficacy of the treatment [ 9 , 10 , 11 ]. On the other hand, only a few rodent models have been reported to evaluate endometriosis-related adverse perinatal outcomes [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ].…”