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Construction and Optimization of an Endometrial Injury Model in Mice by Transcervical Ethanol Perfusion

Reproductive Sciences volume 28, pages 693–702 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

This study aimed to establish a stable animal model of intrauterine adhesion (IUA) using a minimally invasive method that recapitulates the clinicopathologic characteristics of IUA. Mice were randomly divided into groups based on the ethanol treatment time (the EtOH-10 s, EtOH-20 s, EtOH-40 s, EtOH-1 min, and sham operation groups), and after the cervix was relaxed with phloroglucinol, the uterine horn was perfused with 95% ethanol through the cervix to induce endometrial injury. Eight days after the procedure, routine biochemical assays were performed to assess liver and kidney function; HE and Masson staining were used to assess uterine morphology and fibrosis; and immunohistochemistry was performed to evaluate the expression of CD31 and F4/80 in the endometrium. Furthermore, the fertility of mice in the EtOH-40 s group and the sham operation group was compared. As expected, the ethanol treatment time was positively correlated with the degree of uterine damage and kidney dysfunction in mice. In particular, the endometria of mice in the EtOH-40 s group were significantly thinner than those of mice in the sham operation group and exhibited severe necrosis, glandular loss, incomplete epithelial and glandular epithelial cell structure, severe tissue fibrosis, an activated inflammatory response, and a significant decrease in the number of fetuses, consistent with the clinical characteristics of severe IUA. In conclusion, this study resulted in successful establishment, by a minimally invasive transcervical ethanol perfusion technique, of a mouse model of endometrial injury, which could support an in-depth study of IUA pathogenesis and further promote the development of IUA therapies.

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Data Availability

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

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Funding

This study is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81870587 and U1804186) and the Xinxiang Medical University Foundation (20172DCG-03, 2017CXY-2-12 and YJSCX201916Z).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Shenghui Zhang and Yuliang Sun contributed equally to this work.

Affiliations

  1. The Third Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453100, China

    Shenghui Zhang & Ying Pan

  2. Stem Cell and Biotherapy Technology Research Center, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, China

    Shenghui Zhang, Yuliang Sun, Dongli Jiang, Tongtong Chen, Ruihong Liu, Xinyi Li, Yilin Lu, Liang Qiao, Yanli Liu & Juntang Lin

  3. College of Biomedical Engineering, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, China

    Yuliang Sun, Ruihong Liu & Juntang Lin

  4. School of International Education of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, China

    Dongli Jiang

Authors
  1. Shenghui Zhang
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  2. Yuliang Sun
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  3. Dongli Jiang
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  4. Tongtong Chen
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  5. Ruihong Liu
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  6. Xinyi Li
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  7. Yilin Lu
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  8. Liang Qiao
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  9. Ying Pan
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  10. Yanli Liu
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  11. Juntang Lin
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Contributions

J. T. L., Y. L. L., and Y. P. conceived and designed the experiments. S. H. Z., Y. L. S., T. T. C., R. H. L., and X. Y. L. performed the experiments. Y. L. L. and D. L. J. assisted with cell culture and data analysis, discussed the results, and commented on the manuscript. Y. L. L., S. H. Z., Y. L. S., and L. Q. analyzed the data, wrote the manuscript, and prepared the figures. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Ying Pan or Yanli Liu.

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Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.

Ethical Approval and Consent to Participate

Competent authority approval was obtained from the Ethics Review Board of Xinxiang Medical University. Animal studies were carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the Animal Care Committee of Xinxiang Medical University.

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Summary Sentence

By a minimally invasive transcervical ethanol perfusion technique, we successfully established a mouse IUA model, exhibiting characteristics consistent with IUA clinicopathology, and a degree of severity dependent on the ethanol treatment time.

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Zhang, S., Sun, Y., Jiang, D. et al. Construction and Optimization of an Endometrial Injury Model in Mice by Transcervical Ethanol Perfusion. Reprod. Sci. 28, 693–702 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-020-00296-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-020-00296-2

Keywords

  • Intrauterine adhesion
  • Ethanol perfusion
  • Vascular regeneration
  • Inflammatory response