Surgical Induction of Endometriosis in Female Mice

Abstract

Endometriosis is a common gynecological disease characterized by the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity. It is frequently associated with pain, infertility and a reduced quality of life, and it lacks adequate treatment. Several rodent models of endometriosis have been developed through heterologous and homologous transplantation of endometrial tissue into the abdominal compartment. Here we describe a surgical procedure to generate a syngeneic model of endometriosis in immunocompetent mice with intact uterine and ovarian tissues. In this model, four uterine fragments from a donor mouse at diestrus are sutured to the abdominal wall of a recipient mouse. One month after surgeries, endometrial implants develop into cysts with glandular epithelium and stroma, mimicking the endometriotic lesions observed in women with endometriosis. Therefore, this mouse model provides a valuable tool to study the pathophysiology of endometriosis and the efficacy of potential treatments.