Department of Bioengineering, Graduate School of Engineering, the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2020 Jun 2;10(1):9014. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-65884-3.
The uterus plays an important and unique role during pregnancy and is a dynamic organ subjected to mechanical stimuli. It has been reported that infertility occurs when the peristalsis is prevented, although its mechanisms remain unknown. In this study, we found that mechanical strain mimicking the peristaltic motion of the uterine smooth muscle layer enabled the endometrial stromal cells to acquire contractility. In order to mimic the peristalsis induced by uterine smooth muscle cells, cyclic tensile stretch was applied to human endometrial stromal cells. The results showed that the strained cells exerted greater contractility in three-dimensional collagen gels in the presence of oxytocin, due to up-regulated alpha-smooth muscle actin expression via the cAMP signaling pathway. These in vitro findings underscore the plasticity of the endometrial stromal cell phenotype and suggest the possibility of acquired contractility by these cells in vivo and its potential contribution to uterine contractile activity. This phenomenon may be a typical example of how a tissue passively acquires new contractile functions under mechanical stimulation from a neighboring tissue, enabling it to support the adjacent tissue's functions.
子宫在妊娠期间发挥着重要而独特的作用，是一个受机械刺激影响的动态器官。据报道，当蠕动受阻时会发生不孕，但其机制尚不清楚。在这项研究中，我们发现模拟子宫平滑肌层蠕动运动的机械应变使子宫内膜基质细胞获得收缩性。为了模拟由子宫平滑肌细胞引起的蠕动，对人子宫内膜基质细胞施加周期性张力拉伸。结果表明，在存在催产素的情况下，由于 cAMP 信号通路上调了 α-平滑肌肌动蛋白的表达，应变细胞在三维胶原凝胶中表现出更强的收缩性。这些体外发现强调了子宫内膜基质细胞表型的可塑性，并表明这些细胞在体内获得收缩性的可能性及其对子宫收缩活动的潜在贡献。这种现象可能是组织在受到相邻组织机械刺激时被动获得新的收缩功能的典型例子，使它能够支持相邻组织的功能。
