We report the case of a 73-year-old female with myxoid mixed low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma and smooth muscle tumor of the uterus. Grossly, the tumor sized 130 x 130 x 100 mm involved the uterine corpus almost in its entirety. Histologically, the tumor consisted of two cell types. In some areas, the tumor cells showed typical features of endometrial stromal tumors and resembled stromal c...

OBJECTIVES In this study, we have established an in vitro three-dimensional (3D) coculture, where normal endometrial stromal cells and endometrial cancer cells were cocultured under defined hormonal conditions, to investigate the potential paracrine effects on synthesis and secretion of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and, thus, cancer invasion. METHODS Endometrial stromal cells were obtaine...

The contribution of the stromal microenvironment to the progression of endometrial cancer has not been well explored. We have conditionally expressed a mutant allele of adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) in murine uterine stroma cells to study its effect on uterine development and function. In addition to metrorrhagia, the mice develop complex atypical endometrial gland hyperplasia that progresse...

Background: Endometriosis is the presence of endometrial tissue outside of the uterine cavity and is the most common gynecologic disorder in women of reproductive age. We have preliminary evidence that in the presence of a 3-dimensional (3-D) fibrin matrix, human endometrial glands, stroma, and neovascularization can develop in vitro, mimicking the earliest stages of endometriosis. The aim of t...

Proteinases are likely effectors of endometrial menstrual breakdown. We have investigated proteinase production by human endometrial stromal cells subjected in vitro to progesterone (P) withdrawal, the physiologic stimulus for menstruation. Culture media of cells exposed to estradiol, P, or estradiol plus P had low levels of proteolytic activity similar to cultures maintained in the absence of ...

BACKGROUND Concerning the low population of human endometrial mesenchymal cells within the tissue and their potential application in the clinic and tissue engineering, some researches have been focused on their in vitro expansion. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) as a proliferative factor on the expansion and proliferation of human...

A highly reproducible and technically straightforward technique for the isolation and long-term culture of normal human endometrial epithelial cells is described. The essential conditions for long-term culture are that the cells be seeded onto a gelatin matrix and that 'endothelial cell growth supplement' be present in the culture medium. Normal endometrial epithelial cells express cytokeratins...

Endometrial stromal tumours (EST) are rare tumours of endometrial stromal origin that account for less than 2% of all uterine tumours. Recent cytogenetic and molecular advances in this area have improved our understanding of ESTs and helped refine their classification into more meaningful categories. Accordingly, the newly released 2014 WHO classification system recognises four categories: endo...

AIMS The Mirena coil is a levonorgestrel releasing intrauterine device that is in widespread use. This study aims to document the endometrial morphology associated with this device. METHODS Endometrial specimens from 75 women with the Mirena coil were reviewed and the histological features detailed. RESULTS Morphological features found in most of the endometria were decidualisation of strom...

Human endometrium decidualization, which involves endometrial stromal proliferation and differentiation, is a prerequisite for embryo implantation, thus successful pregnancy. The Forkhead Box M1 (FoxM1), previously known as HNF-3, HFH-11, MPP2, Win, and Trident, is a transcriptional factor that plays crucial roles in cell proliferation and cell cycle progression. However, the molecular mechanis...