In fifth generation networks (5G), beamforming technique is widely used to obtain higher system capacity, but it cannot eliminate inter-user interference (IUI) of networks due to excessive number of users. To handle this problem, interference alignment (IA) schemes attract great attention as they can effectively restrain IUI. However, the existing IA schemes cannot achieve antenna adaptation and the obtained degree of freedom (DoF) may be not optimal. In this paper, a novel antenna adaptation based interference elimination and regeneration (AA-IER) scheme is proposed for cooperative networks, where a relay with hybrid antenna array structure is adopted to assist the communication. The proposed transmission process is completed in two phases, including interference elimination phase (IEP) and interference regeneration phase (IRP). For the former, the IUI is eliminated and the redundant symbols are erased so that the received signal of multiple users can be decoded simultaneously. For the latter, the redundant symbols of all users are regenerated where the space resources are fully utilized. The simulation results show that AA-IER scheme obtains higher DoF than that of three benchmark schemes. Meanwhile, it requires fewer antennas of relay than HAA-CIE-RIA scheme.