Influence of wound fluid on the transdifferentiation of human mesenchymal bone marrow stem cells into cancer-associated fibroblasts

Abstract

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) in the tumor microenvironment have a decisive influence on tumor growth and metastatic behavior. The cellular origins as well as the stimuli leading to CAF formation are heterogenous, impeding a precise characterization. Aim of this study was to analyze the influence of cytokines secreted in the process of wound healing, tumor cell-associated paracrine-secreted factors, and direct cell-cell contact on the expression of the CAF-associated markers fibroblast activation protein (FAP), α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), thrombospondin-1 (THBS1) and tenascin-c (TNC) by rt-PCR in mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). Cells developed different morphological characteristics after incubation with wound fluid (WF). Moreover, expression of FAP and α-SMA in MSC was a significantly reduced after WF compared to tumor-conditioned medium and in co-culture with tumor cells, THBS1 and TNC were not significantly altered after any of the different incubation methods. There were no alterations of expression patterns of FAP and α-SMA in the immunohistochemical analysis. Differences in the cytokine composition of the media were found in the dot blot. The heterogeneity of the results emphasizes the complexity of the interactions of tumor cells and cells of the microenvironment, particularly through the addition of human-derived WF.