Institute for Clinical & Experimental Surgery, University of Saarland, 66421 Homburg/Saar, Germany.
Hum Reprod. 2010 Oct;25(10):2551-8. doi: 10.1093/humrep/deq201. Epub 2010 Aug 6.
In many studies in rodents, intraperitoneal endometriosis-like lesions are surgically induced by syngeneic or autologous transplantation of uterine tissue samples, which are sutured to the abdominal wall. However, until now the surgical techniques have not been standardized, and we address this issue here.
Uterine tissue samples were transplanted to the peritoneum of C57BL/6 mice (four study groups, n = 7 each). Using non-invasive high-resolution ultrasound imaging over a period of 4 weeks, we analyzed growth characteristics and cyst formation of the endometriosis-like lesions which developed, in relation to mode of transplantation (syngeneic versus autologous), type of tissue fixed adjacent to the peritoneum (endometrium versus perimetrium), and size of tissue transplanted (2 versus 3 mm). Immunohistochemical analysis was also performed.
When the perimetrium, with underlying myometrium, was sutured next to the host peritoneum the endometriosis-like lesions which developed exhibited a higher growth rate (P< 0.05 versus endometrium), and contained more proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)-positive cells and an increased microvessel density (both P< 0.05 versus endometrium). In the group with 3 mm uterine tissue grafts, lesion growth was significantly decreased when compared with 2 mm samples (P< 0.05). However, the larger grafts developed more cysts throughout the observation period than the smaller ones. There was no difference between syngeneic and autologous endometriosis-like lesions.
Our study demonstrates that size and spatial orientation of peritoneally fixed uterine tissue samples crucially determine growth and cyst formation of endometriotic lesions in mice. These findings should improve the standardization and reliability of future studies, performed in the frequently used mouse model of surgically induced endometriosis.
在许多啮齿动物的研究中，通过将子宫组织样本同种异体或自体移植到腹壁上来诱导腹腔内子宫内膜异位样病变。然而，到目前为止，手术技术尚未标准化，我们在这里解决这个问题。
将子宫组织样本移植到 C57BL/6 小鼠的腹膜中（四个研究组，每组 7 只）。使用非侵入性高分辨率超声成像在 4 周的时间内，我们分析了发展中的子宫内膜异位样病变的生长特征和囊肿形成，与移植方式（同种异体与自体）、固定在腹膜旁的组织类型（子宫内膜与子宫旁组织）以及移植组织的大小（2 毫米与 3 毫米）有关。还进行了免疫组织化学分析。
当将带有下面的子宫肌层的子宫旁组织缝合到宿主腹膜旁边时，发展中的子宫内膜异位样病变表现出更高的生长速度（P<0.05 与子宫内膜相比），并且含有更多的增殖细胞核抗原（PCNA）阳性细胞和增加的微血管密度（均 P<0.05 与子宫内膜相比）。在 3 毫米子宫组织移植物组中，与 2 毫米样本相比，病变生长明显减少（P<0.05）。然而，较大的移植物在整个观察期间比较小的移植物发展出更多的囊肿。同种异体和自体子宫内膜异位样病变之间没有差异。
我们的研究表明，腹膜固定的子宫组织样本的大小和空间方向对小鼠子宫内膜异位症病变的生长和囊肿形成至关重要。这些发现应该提高未来在经常使用的手术诱导子宫内膜异位症小鼠模型中进行的研究的标准化和可靠性。
