Uterine Leiomyomas Exhibit Fewer Stem/Progenitor Cell Characteristics When Compared With Corresponding Normal Myometrium

Uterine leiomyomas (also known as uterine fibroids) are the most common benign tumors of female reproductive tract and are the single most common indication for hysterectomies. Despite their high prevalence, the exact pathogenesis of these benign tumors is still unknown. One possible mechanism for l...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) Calif.), 2010-02, Vol.17 (2), p.158-167
Main Authors: Chang, Henry L., Senaratne, Tharanga N., Zhang, LiHua, Szotek, Paul P., Stewart, Ethan, Dombkowski, David, Preffer, Frederic, Donahoe, Patricia K., Teixeira, Jose
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Cell Differentiation - physiology
Cell Division - physiology
Embryology
Female
Female genital diseases
Fibroblasts - cytology
Fibroblasts - metabolism
Flow Cytometry
Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics
Humans
In Vitro Techniques
Leiomyomatosis - pathology
Medical sciences
Medicine & Public Health
Mesenchymal Stromal Cells - metabolism
Mesenchymal Stromal Cells - pathology
Myometrium - cytology
Obstetrics/Perinatology/Midwifery
Reproductive Medicine
Thy-1 Antigens - metabolism
Tumors
Uterine Neoplasms - pathology
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Summary:Uterine leiomyomas (also known as uterine fibroids) are the most common benign tumors of female reproductive tract and are the single most common indication for hysterectomies. Despite their high prevalence, the exact pathogenesis of these benign tumors is still unknown. One possible mechanism for leiomyoma formation is dysregulation of mesenchymal stem cell activity. Mesenchymal stem cells have been identified in both human and murine uteri and cancer stem cells have been identified in female reproductive malignancies. We compared stem/progenitor cell characteristics in both normal myometrium and the corresponding leiomyoma of patient’s undergoing hysterectomies. We found that leiomyoma cells form fewer mesenchymal stem cell colonies and exhibit less Hoechst dye-excluding side population (SP) activity, which is a function associated with progenitor cells in other tissues, than cells isolated from normal myometrium. Whereas in normal myometrium, we observed heterogeneous expression of CD90, a cell surface marker associated the with differentiation potential of uterine fibroblasts, in leiomyomas, we observed homogenous expression of CD90, suggesting leiomyoma cells are more terminally differentiated. Furthermore, we found that while leiomyoma cells could only produce CD90 expressing cells, both CD90+ and CD90— myometrial cells could reestablish their original heterogeneous CD90 profile when expanded in vitro. These results suggest that normal myometrium contains cells with stem/progenitor cell activities that are absent in leiomyomas.
ISSN:1933-7191
1933-7205
DOI:10.1177/1933719109348924