Normal human endometrium in cell culture. I. Separation and characterization of epithelial and stromal components in vitro.

Separation of human endometrium into its epithelial and stromal components has been achieved through collagenase digestion and has permitted a study of these two cell populations under specific experimental culture conditions. The stromal cell populations showed a progesterone response, were easily handled in culture, and displayed a limited in vitro life span typical of human diploid fibroblasts. In contrast, epithelium only survived in short-term primary culture and showed no clear hormone response. High-density epithelial cultures remained viable for longer periods in culture. Comparisons between resurfacing endometrial epithelial cells in vivo and epithelial cells migrating from explants in vitro suggested that this initial epithelial migration in vitro was the counterpart of the repair response in vivo.