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This Article Free via Open Access: OA OA Full Text Full Text (PDF) OA All Versions of this Article: 2007-0301v1 25/11/2820    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints/Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Bratincsák, A. Articles by Mezey, E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Bratincsák, A. Articles by Mezey, E.

TISSUE-SPECIFIC STEM CELLS

CD45-Positive Blood Cells Give Rise to Uterine Epithelial Cells in Mice

^aNational Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA;
^bThe J. Craig Venter Institute, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA;
^cNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, Maryland, USA;
^dNational Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA;
^eNational Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, Bethesda, Maryland, USA;
^fDepartment of Dermato-Venereology and Oncology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary

Key Words. Adult stem cell • Hematopoietic stem cell • Endometrium • Regeneration

Correspondence: Éva Mezey, M.D., Ph.D., 49 Convent Drive, Building 49, Room 5A76, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA. Telephone: 301-435-5635; Fax: 301-496-1339; e-mail: mezeye{at}mail.nih.gov

Received April 24, 2007; accepted for publication July 20, 2007.
First published online in STEM CELLS EXPRESS   July 26, 2007.



The uterine endometrium is composed of epithelial and stromal cells, which undergo extensive degeneration and regeneration in every estrous cycle, and dramatic changes occur during pregnancy. The high turnover of cells requires a correspondingly high level of cell division by progenitor cells in the uterus, but the character and source of these cells remain obscure. In the present study, using a novel transgenic mouse, we showed that CD45-positive hematopoietic progenitor cells colonize the uterine epithelium and that in pregnancy more than 80% of the epithelium can derive from these cells. Since we also found green fluorescent protein (GFP)-positive uterine endothelial cells in long-term GFP bone marrow-transplanted mice, we conclude that circulating CD45+ cells play an important role in regenerating the uterine epithelium.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.