Culture of rat endometrial telocytes

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that telocytes are found in a variety of tissues. Here, we report the presence of telocytes in the human endometrium. In addition, telocytes were isolated from the rat endometrium and cultured. Immunohistochemistry was performed in vitro and in vivo. Cultured cells showed that telocytes expressed CD34, and similar results were found in the uterine tissue. In both species, telocytes also stained positive for vimentin and connexin 43. Telopodes were observed connecting cell colonies and connecting distant cells. Our findings suggest that telocytes may have a role in cell-to-cell communication over short and long distances within the endometrium. © 2012 Foundation for Cellular and Molecular Medicine/Blackwell Publishing Ltd.