The Importance of the Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway in the Porcine Endometrial Stromal Stem/Progenitor Cells: Implications for Regeneration.

The regenerative ability of the endometrium is strongly associated with the presence of adult stem/progenitor cells. Purposes of the present study were (1) to establish the presence of stem/progenitor cells in porcine endometrial stroma using a clonogenic assay and (2) to investigate whether the canonical Wnt pathway affects the potential of stem/progenitor cells to undergo self-renewal or differentiation. The utility of endometrial stromal clones as a model for stem/progenitor studies was evaluated based on these cells' increased expression of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) marker genes, including CD29, CD73, CD90, and CD105, compared with primary cultured cells.