HUMAN ENDOMETRIAL EPITHELIAL-CELLS GROWN ON COLLAGEN IN SERUM-FREE MEDIUM - ESTROGEN RESPONSIVENESS AND MORPHOLOGY

The aim of the study was to explore the possibility of using human endometrial epithelial cells in serum-free culture as a sensitive assay for hormonal effects on the human endometrium. Glands were isolated following enzymatic digestion of the endometrial tissue and plated on a collagen matrix. The epithelial cells were grown in either medium containing serum or in supplemented serum-free medium. No morphologic difference was found between cells grown in these two media for up to 5 days, using either light or scanning electron microscopy. Secretion of prostaglandin F2-alpha (PGF2-alpha) in response to estradiol was not lower in serum-free medium than in medium containing serum for the first 2 days of culture, whereas secretion declined after prolonged incubation in the serum-free medium. This response to estradiol was clearly dose-dependent, and it was further enhanced by addition of arachidonic acid, the precursor for prostaglandin synthesis, to the medium. Co-culture of endometrial stromal cells did not influence the secretion of PGF2-alpha by epithelial cells. We conclude that the secretion of PGF2-alpha from primary cultures of human endometrial epithelial cells grown on collagen in serum-free medium can be used for a limited period as an assay of estrogenic effects on the human endometrium.