Seminal Plasma Promotes Lesion Development in a Xenograft Model of Endometriosis
Date
2015-05
Authors
McGuane, Jonathan T.
Watson, Katherine M.
Zhang, Jamie
Johan, M. Zahied
Wang, Zhao
Kuo, Gabriel
Sharkey, David J.
Robertson, Sarah A.
Hull, M. Louise
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier
Abstract
The factors that predispose one-tenth of reproductive-aged women to endometriosis are poorly understood. We determined that genetic deficiency in transforming growth factor β1 impairs endometriosis-like lesion growth in mice. Given that seminal plasma is an abundant source of transforming growth factor β, we evaluated the effect of exposure to seminal plasma on the growth of endometrial lesions. Human endometrial explants were exposed to seminal plasma or to control medium before transfer to Prkdc(scid)-mutant (severe combined immunodeficient) mice. Xenografts exposed to seminal plasma showed an eightfold increase in volume and a 4.3-fold increase in weight after 14 days. These increases were associated with increased proliferation of endometrial epithelial cells and enhanced survival and proliferation of human stromal cells compared with those in control lesions, in which human stromal cell persistence was negligible. Although the distribution of macrophages was altered, their number and activation status did not change in response to seminal plasma. Seminal plasma stimulated the production of a variety of cytokines in endometrial tissue, including growth-regulated oncogene, granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor, and IL-1β. These data suggest that seminal plasma enhances the formation of endometriosis-like lesion via a direct effect on endometrial cell survival and proliferation, rather than via macrophage-mediated mechanisms. These findings raise the possibility that endometrial exposure to seminal plasma could contribute to endometriotic disease progression in women.
Description
Keywords
adult, animals, disease models, animal, endometriosis, endometrium, female, heterografts, humans, male, mice, mice, scid, middle aged, semen
Citation
Collections
Source
The American journal of pathology
Type
Journal article