ISOLATION, CHARACTERIZATION, AND COMPARISON OF HUMAN ENDOMETRIAL AND ENDOMETRIOSIS CELLS IN-VITRO

Endometriosis is a common gynecological disorder of unclear pathogenes is. We have established an in vitro model to investigate phenotypic si milarities and differences between normal endometrial and endometriosi s cells. Highly purified cultures of epithelial and stromal cells were isolated from normal endometrium and endometriosis implants. Morpholo gical features as well as immunocytochemical markers confirm these iso lates as epithelial and stromal cells. Potential hormone responsivenes s was established by the documentation of estrogen receptor mRNA in ep ithelial and stromal cells isolated from both tissue types. Expression of this receptor protein was verified in stromal cells by competitive radioligand binding, revealing comparable receptor numbers and dissoc iation constants. CA-125 is selectively secreted in similar concentrat ions by epithelial cells isolated from both tissue types. PRL secretio n is selectively exhibited by progestin-stimulated stromal cells from both tissue types. Our findings demonstrate that highly purified epith elial and stromal cells cultured from normal endometrial and endometri osis tissues express the same phenotypic and functional markers as the ir in vivo counterparts. These cultures provide useful models to ident ify endometriosis-specific cell products that contribute to the pathog enesis of this disorder.