Fig. 5

Urinary bladder matrix (UBM) scaffolds improve endometrial regeneration in a rat model [51]. (A) (a) Appearance and structure of the UBM, 3.0 cm in length, 0.6 cm in width, and 0.1 cm in thickness. (b) A scaffold with a 1000 μm pore size shown by scanning electron microscopy. (B) Gross view and histological structure of reconstructed uterine horns at 2 weeks (a − e) and 4 weeks (a’ − e’) postoperation in the normal group (a and a’), the sham-operated group (b and b’), the injury group (c and c’) and the UBM group (d and d’). Bar:100 μm. (C) Histological structure of the uterine horns. (D) UBM transplantation reduces injury-induced fibrosis. Masson’s trichrome staining of the collagen. (E) UBM transplantation increased cell proliferation. Immunohistochemical staining of Ki67. (F) UBM transplantation increased blood vessel distribution in the endometrium. Immunohistochemical staining of blood vessels (vWF) in the endometrium at 4 weeks after surgery (a to d) in the normal group (a), the sham-operated group (b), the injury group (c) and the UBM group (d). (a-d, Bar: 200 μm), (a’-d’: Bar: 50 μm). **p < 0.01 and ***p < 0.001. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [51]