Cell-based therapy in thin endometrium syndrome

Abstract

Of the known causes of uterine factor infertility, Asherman’s syndrome or the so-called intrauterine synechia, chronic endometritis and endometrial hypoplastic processes are most often distinguished. Thin endometrial syndrome is characterized by a decrease in the thickness of the endometrium to 7 mm or less in the proliferative phase of the menstrual cycle and a multiple decrease in the frequency of embryo implantation.

Numerous treatment strategies have so far been proposed for treating refractory thin endometrium syndrome. Recently, cell therapy has been proposed as an ideal alternative for endometrium regeneration, including the employment of stem cells, platelet-rich plasma, and growth factors as therapeutic agents. Single center, prospective, open-label study of efficacy of cell-based therapy in the complex treatment of thin endometrium syndrome in patients with infertility was conducted. The study involved 36 women aged 28 to 36 years, the middle age was 34.2 ± 1.1 years. All patients included in the study received 3 cycles of intrauterine administration of a suspension of autologous stem cells isolated from bone marrow. Bone marrow was successfully aspirated from the iliac crest in all patients. Mononuclear cells was isolated by density gradient centrifugation according to the standard method. The cell material was cryopreservated and thawed immediately before administration. The procedure for intrauterine transplantation of isolated but not cultured cells was performed on the 5^th–7^th day of the menstrual cycle. There were no significant adverse events related to harvest or administration. The thickness of the endometrium before and after treatment was 2.39 ± 0.64 and 6.56 ± 0.94 mm (t = –21.94, p = 0.0001), respectively. The rate of patients with an endometrial thickness of more than 7 mm after treatment was 77.8%. The effectiveness of assisted reproductive technology in patients with normal endometrial (n = 28) was 32.1%. Immunohistochemistry confirms the presence of chronic endometritis before and after treatment in 22 (61.1%) and 19 (52.8%) patients, respectively, while after treatment a significant decrease in the levels inflammatory markers was found.

Keywords

assisted reproductive technology / bone marrow stem cells / cell-based therapy / chronic endometritis / infertility / regenerative medicine / thin endometrium

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