Table I.

Investigations on endometrial/menstrual blood stem cells^a

Year	Event	Reference
1978	First description of stem cells in the endometrial tissue based on the observations of the monthly tissue shedding	[81]
1991	Supports the idea of stem cells in the endometrial tissue based on the potential of the endometrial cells to migrate and generate new tissue in endometriosis	[82]
2004	Isolation and culture of epithelial and stromal cells from the endometrium. Observed clonogenicity and in vitro proliferation	[83]
2007	Isolation and culture of cells from menstrual blood, similar to cells isolated from the endometrium. Differentiation into the three germ layers	[84]
2007	Intramuscular application of human endometrial and menstrual blood-derived cells in a murine model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. In vitro and in vivo demonstration of fusion of injected cells to myoblasts and production of human dystrophin by the treated muscle	[109]
2008	Isolation, culture and differentiation of menstrual blood stromal cells into mesodermal and ectodermal tissues. Expression of markers of immature cell types	[75]
2008	Differentiation of menstrual blood stromal cells into spontaneously beating cardiomyocytes in vitro. Functional improvement of myocardial infarct rat models and in vivo evidence of cell engraftment and differentiation	[91]
2009	Safety study of intravenous/intrathecal administration of endometrium-derived stromal cells in refractory multiple sclerosis patients. No adverse effects observed. Clinical stabilization in short follow-up period	[95]
2010	Menstrual blood stromal cells expressed neural markers in vitro. Neuroprotection of neural tissue cultures when menstrual blood cells were added. Functional improvement of rat model of stroke, with migration of cells to the site of injury, but without evidence of cell differentiation	[93]
2010	Endometrial-derived stem cells injected in a rat model of Parkinson’s disease. Evidence of migration, engraftment and differentiation, along with increased concentrations of striatal dopamine	[89]

^aList of the publications on endometrium-derived stem cells, from the first report of the existence of stem cells in such tissue, to the clinical applications of these cells