Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

Identification and localization of epithelial progenitor cells in the vagina

International Journal of Impotence Research volume 31, pages 46–49 (2019)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify and localize mucosal epithelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in the rat vagina. Rat vagina was obtained from f77emale Sprague-Dawley rats (12 weeks old, n = 20). To identify EPCs in vagina, we followed a single-cell isolation protocol and analyzed the number of cells staining positive for EPC markers by flow cytometry. The expression of EPC-specific markers (CD44, ERα, PR) was evaluated by immunofluorescence. As shown by confocal immunofluorescence, CD44/ERα double-labeled cells were mainly expressed in the basal cell and suprabasal cell layers. Immunofluorescent staining of CD44 was expressed in the plasma membrane of the vaginal epithelium, and ERα was expressed in the cytoplasm of the vaginal epithelium. The CD44/ERα double-positive cells were noted in the rat vagina by flow cytometric analysis. PR-labeled cells were localized in the intermediate layer of the epithelial space of the vagina. The results revealed the existence of EPCs in the vagina. These findings imply that resident EPCs may have a role in the regeneration of vaginal mucosa.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Goldstein I, Berman JR. Vasculogenic female sexual dysfunction: vaginal engorgement and clitoral erectile insufficiency syndromes. Int J Impot Res. 1998;10(Suppl 2):S84–90. discussionS8-101

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Basson R, Brotto LA, Laan E, Redmond G, Utian WH. Assessment and management of women’s sexual dysfunctions: problematic desire and arousal. J Sex Med. 2005;2:291–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Kaushic C, Zhou F, Murdin AD, Wira CR. Effects of estradiol and progesterone on susceptibility and early immune responses to Chlamydia trachomatis infection in the female reproductive tract. Infect Immun. 2000;68:4207–16.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Levin RJ. The physiology of sexual function in women. Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 1980;7:213–52.

  5. Lee HS, Kim SO, Ahn K, Park K. All-trans retinoic acid increases aquaporin 3 expression in human vaginal epithelial cells. Sex Med. 2016;4:e249–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Park K, Han HJ, Kim SW, Jung SI, Kim SO, Lee HS, et al. Expression of aquaporin water channels in rat vagina: potential role in vaginal lubrication. J Sex Med. 2008;5:77–82.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Blaskewicz CD, Pudney J, Anderson DJ. Structure and function of intercellular junctions in human cervical and vaginal mucosal epithelia. Biol Reprod. 2011;85:97–104.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Wang N, Dong BJ, Quan Y, Chen Q, Chu M, Xu J, et al. Regulation of prostate development and benign prostatic hyperplasia by autocrine cholinergic signaling via maintaining the epithelial progenitor cells in proliferating status. Stem Cell Rep. 2016;6:668–78.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Smirnova NF, Schamberger AC, Nayakanti S, Hatz R, Behr J, Eickelberg O. Detection and quantification of epithelial progenitor cell populations in human healthy and IPF lungs. Respir Res. 2016;17:83.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Gargett CE, Schwab KE, Deane JA. Endometrial stem/progenitor cells: the first 10 years. Hum Reprod Update. 2016;22:137–63.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Patton DL, Thwin SS, Meier A, Hooton TM, Stapleton AE, Eschenbach DA. Epithelial cell layer thickness and immune cell populations in the normal human vagina at different stages of the menstrual cycle. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2000;183:967–73.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Laumann EO, Paik A, Rosen RC. Sexual dysfunction in the United States: prevalence and predictors. JAMA. 1999;281:537–44.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Simonelli C, Eleuteri S, Petruccelli F, Rossi R. Female sexual pain disorders: dyspareunia and vaginismus. Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2014;27:406–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Yong PJ, Willians C, Yosef A, Wong F, Bedaiwy MA, Lisonkova S. et al. Anatomic sites and associated clinical factors for deep dyspareunia. Sex Med. 2017;5:e184–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Shabsigh A, Buttyan R, Burchardt T, Buchardt M, Hayek OR, D’Agati V, et al. The microvascular architecture of the rat vagina revealed by image analysis of vascular corrosion casts. Int J Impot Res. 1999;11(Suppl 1):S23–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Kim SO, Oh KJ, Lee HS, Ahn K, Kim SW, Park K. Expression of aquaporin water channels in the vagina in premenopausal women. J Sex Med. 2011;8:1925–30.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Wang Y, Sacchetti A, van Dijk MR, van der Zee M, van der Horst PH, Joosten R, et al. Identification of quiescent, stem-like cells in the distal female reproductive tract. PLoS ONE. 2012;7:e40691.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Masuda H, Matsuzaki Y, Hiratsu E, Ono M, Nagashima T, Kajitani T, et al. Stem cell-like properties of the endometrial side population: implication in endometrial regeneration. PLoS ONE. 2010;5:e10387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Lee JS, Hwang IS, Lee H-S, Kim ME, Seo Y-W, Park K. Identification of endothelial progenitor cells in the corpus cavernosum in rats. Biomed Res Int. 2014;2014:1–5.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (2015R1D1A1A01059352). We thank Ms. Jennifer Holmes for assistance in editing the text.

Author contributions

Category 1; (a) Conception and Design; KP; (b) Acquisition of Data; H-SL, MEK; (c) Analysis and Interpretation of Data; H-SL, MEK, HSC; Category 2; (a) Drafting the Article; HSC, KP; (b) Revising It for Intellectual Content; KP, JSL, HSC; Category 3; (a) Final Approval of the Completed Article; KP.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology and BK21 PLUS Center for Creative Biomedical Scientists, Chonnam National University Medical School, Sexual Medicine Research Center, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Korea

    Ho Seok Chung, Hyun-Suk Lee & Kwangsung Park

  2. Department of Biology, BK21-plus Research Team for Bioactive Control Technology, College of Natural Sciences, Chosun University, Gwangju, Korea

    Mi Eun Kim & Jun Sik Lee

Authors
  1. Ho Seok Chung
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hyun-Suk Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Mi Eun Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jun Sik Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Kwangsung Park
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kwangsung Park.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chung, H.S., Lee, HS., Kim, M.E. et al. Identification and localization of epithelial progenitor cells in the vagina. Int J Impot Res 31, 46–49 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-018-0079-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-018-0079-6

Search

Advanced search

Quick links