Effective Therapy of Endometrial Injury by Slow-Releasing Human Placenta-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Encapsulated Within Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels

Endometrial injury is one of the main causes of female infertility. Though traditional surgery treatments can reshape the uterine cavity to some extent, their therapeutic effects on endometrial repair are still limited. In this study, we reported an innovative therapy for endometrial injury by slowly released human placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells (HP-MSCs) encapsulated within hyaluronic acid hydrogels (MSCs-HA). In vivo imaging and frozen section of mouse uteri showed that the injected MSCs-HA exhibited a prolonged retention time in mouse uteri. EdU proliferation and transwell migration assays indicated that HP-MSCs can not only promote the proliferation of human endometrial stromal and gland cells but also the migration of the stromal cells. The in vivo therapeutic results of the endometrium-injured mouse model indicated that the MSCs-HA can significantly facilitate endometrial repair and regeneration, including the increase of gland number and endometrial thickness, the decrease of fibrous area, and the increase of proliferation of endometrial cells. Our findings suggested the potential therapeutic effect of MSCs-HA on the endometrial repair.