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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Jan 26, 2025; 17(1): 97905
Published online Jan 26, 2025. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v17.i1.97905
Advances in human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells-derived extracellular vesicles and biomaterial assemblies for endometrial injury treatment
Wan-Yu Zhang, Han-Bi Wang, Cheng-Yan Deng
Wan-Yu Zhang, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China
Han-Bi Wang, Cheng-Yan Deng, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing 100730, China
Author contributions: Zhang WY and Wang HB conceptualized the study design, conducted the analyses, and interpreted the data; Deng CY contributed to data acquisition and drafted the manuscript; All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Cheng-Yan Deng, MD, PhD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, No. 1 Shuaifuyuan, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100730, China. chydmd@sohu.com
Received: June 12, 2024
Revised: November 6, 2024
Accepted: January 2, 2025
Published online: January 26, 2025
Processing time: 221 Days and 17.3 Hours
Abstract

Endometrial injury caused by repeated uterine procedures, infections, inflammation, or uterine artery dysfunction can deplete endometrial stem/progenitor cells and impair regeneration, thereby diminishing endometrial receptivity and evidently lowering the live birth, clinical pregnancy, and embryo implantation rates. Currently, safe and effective clinical treatment methods or gene-targeted therapies are unavailable, especially for severe endometrial injury. Umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells and their extracellular vesicles are characterized by their simple collection, rapid proliferation, low immunogenicity, and tumorigenicity, along with their involvement in regulating angiogenesis, immune response, cell apoptosis and proliferation, inflammatory response, and fibrosis, Therefore, these cells and vesicles hold broad potential for application in endometrial repair. This article reviewed recent research on human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells as well as their extracellular vesicles in repairing endometrial injury.

Keywords: Endometrial injury; Umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells; Extracellular vesicles; MicroRNA; Biomaterial assemblies; Regenerative repair

Core Tip: This study explored the therapeutic potential of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hucMSCs) as well as their extracellular vesicles in repairing endometrial injury. We demonstrated that hucMSCs promote endometrial regeneration through various mechanisms, such as cell proliferation, anti-fibrosis, angiogenesis, and immunomodulation. The findings highlighted the advantages of hucMSCs, including their low immunogenicity and ethical acceptability, making them a promising candidate for clinical applications. Our work addressed current challenges in hucMSC therapy, laying the groundwork for future standardized protocols and potentially offering new hope for females with endometrial dysfunction.