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Construction and evaluation of intrauterine adhesion model in rats by different methods of mechanical injury

  • Gynecologic Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine
  • Published:
Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

The study aimed to establish a stable and effective animal model for the experimental study of intrauterine adhesion (IUA) by evaluating various mechanical injury methods.

Methods

A total of 140 female rats were divided into four groups according to the extent and area of endometrial injury: group A (excision area: 2.0 × 0.5 cm2), group B (excision area: 2.0 × 0.25 cm2), group C (endometrial curettage) and group D (sham operation). On the 3rd, 7th, 15th and 30th day after the operation, the tissue samples of each group were collected, and the uterine cavity stenosis and histological changes were recorded by HE and Masson staining. Immunohistochemistry of CD31 was applied to visualize microvessel density (MVD). The pregnancy rate and the number of gestational sacs were used to evaluate the reproductive outcome.

Results

The results showed that endometrium injured by small-area endometrial excision or simple curettage could be repaired. The ratio of fibrosis in groups A and B was higher than that in groups C and group D 30 days after modeling (P < 0.001). The number of endometrial glands and MVD in group A was significantly lower than those in groups B, C and D (P < 0.05). The pregnancy rate in group A was 20%, which was lower than that in groups B (33.3%), C (89%) and D (100%) (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Full-thickness endometrial excision has a high rate of success in constructing stable and effective IUA models in rats.

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Availability of data and material

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Code availability

Not applicable.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Female Reproductive Endocrine Related Diseases.

Funding

This work was funded by Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (No.22ZR1408800).

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Author notes

  1. Fang Chen and Ying-Xin Gong contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Center of Diagnosis and Treatment for Cervical Diseases, Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Fudan University, 419 Fangxie Road, Shanghai, 200011, China

    Fang Chen, Ying-Xin Gong, Jing-Jing Xiao, Ning-Hong Jiang, Li-Mei Chen & Long Sui

  2. Shanghai Key Laboratory of Female Reproductive Endocrine Related Diseases, Shanghai, 200011, China

    Fang Chen, Ying-Xin Gong, Jing-Jing Xiao, Ning-Hong Jiang, Li-Mei Chen & Long Sui

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  1. Fang Chen
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Contributions

Conceptualization: LS and L-MC. Methodology: FC, Y-XG and L-MC. Formal analysis and investigation: FC, Y-XG, J-JX and N-HJ. Writing—original draft preparation: FC and Y-XG. Writing—review and editing: J-JX, N-HJ, L-MC and LS. Funding acquisition: LS. Resources: LS and L-MC. Supervision: LS and L-MC.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Li-Mei Chen or Long Sui.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical approval

The ethics committee of Ob/Gyn Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, approved the study (Ky2020-18). All experiments followed the National Institutes of Health guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals.

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Chen, F., Gong, YX., Xiao, JJ. et al. Construction and evaluation of intrauterine adhesion model in rats by different methods of mechanical injury. Arch Gynecol Obstet 308, 281–290 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-023-06926-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-023-06926-9

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