Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
PLoS One. 2012;7(8):e44285. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0044285. Epub 2012 Aug 27.
Endometrium is the inner lining of the uterus which is composed of epithelial and stromal tissue compartments enclosed by the two smooth muscle layers of the myometrium. In women, much of the endometrium is shed and regenerated each month during the menstrual cycle. Endometrial regeneration also occurs after parturition. The cellular mechanisms that regulate endometrial regeneration are still poorly understood. Using genetic fate-mapping in the mouse, we found that the epithelial compartment of the endometrium maintains its epithelial identity during the estrous cycle and postpartum regeneration. However, whereas the stromal compartment maintains its identity during homeostatic cycling, after parturition a subset of stromal cells differentiates into epithelium that is subsequently maintained. These findings identify potential progenitor cells within the endometrial stromal compartment that produce long-term epithelial tissue during postpartum endometrial regeneration.
子宫内膜是子宫的内层，由上皮和基质组织组成，被子宫平滑肌的两层包围。在女性中，子宫内膜的大部分每月在月经周期中脱落和再生。分娩后子宫内膜也会再生。调节子宫内膜再生的细胞机制仍知之甚少。通过在小鼠中的遗传命运图谱，我们发现子宫内膜的上皮组织在发情周期和产后再生过程中保持其上皮身份。然而，虽然基质组织在稳态循环中保持其身份，但在分娩后，一部分基质细胞分化为上皮细胞，随后维持这种状态。这些发现确定了子宫内膜基质组织中潜在的祖细胞，它们在产后子宫内膜再生过程中产生长期的上皮组织。
