Rhabdomyosarcoma Cells Produce Their Own Extracellular Matrix With Minimal Involvement of Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts: A Preliminary Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The interplay between neoplastic cells and surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM) is one of the determinant elements for cancer growth. The remodeling of the ECM by cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) shapes tumor microenvironment by depositing and digesting ECM proteins, hence promoting tumor growth and invasion. While for epithelial tumors CAFs are well characterized, little is known about the stroma composition of mesenchymal cancers, such as in rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), the most common soft tissue sarcoma during childhood and adolescence. The aim of this work is to identify the importance of CAFs in specifying RMS microenvironment and the role of these stromal cells in RMS growth.

Methods

We assessed in two dimensional (2D) and three dimensional (3D) systems th

SUBMITTER: D'Agostino S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7878542 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature