Recruitment of normal stem cells to an oncogenic phenotype by noncontiguous carcinogen-transformed epithelia depends on the transforming carcinogen.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) drive tumor initiation, progression, and metastasis. The microenvironment is critical to the fate of CSCs. We have found that a normal stem cell (NSC) line from human prostate (WPE-stem) is recruited into CSC-like cells by nearby, but noncontiguous, arsenic-transformed isogenic malignant epithelial cells (MECs).

Objective

It is unknown whether this recruitment of NSCs into CSCs by noncontact co-culture is specific to arsenic-transformed MECs. Thus, we used co-culture to examine the effects of neighboring noncontiguous cadmium-transformed MECs (Cd-MECs) and N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-transformed MECs (MNU-MECs) on NSCs.

Results

After 2 weeks of noncontact Cd-MEC co-culture, NSCs showed elevated metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and MMP-2 secre

SUBMITTER: Xu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3734505 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature