157P - Contribution of Mesenchymal Stem Cells (Mscs) on Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (Emt) of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Abstract

ABSTRACT Aim: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were recently found to be one of the candidates involved in the development of tumor stroma. Emerging evidence links MSCs in the tumor microenvironment with the occurrence of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in cancer progression. Here we report that MSCs may contribute to inducing EMT of esophageal squamous carcinoma cells. Methods: The human esophageal squamous carcinoma cell lines Eca-109 and TE-1 were cultured with supernate of human MSCs. The cultured tumor cells were analyzed for changes in cellular morphology, EMT markers, protein expression and tumor characteristics by immunofluorescence analysis, q-PCR, and Western-Blot. Invasiveness of MSC-conditioned tumor cells was also observed in a transwell system. Results: We found that MSC-conditioned esophageal squamous carcinoma cells underwent EMT and established a stable mesenchymal phenotype after prolonged culturing, as indicated by upregulation of EMT-related genes, downregulation of E-cadherin, and acquisition of mesenchymal morphology. Different concentrations of MSC-derived conditioned medium would induce similar changing of tumor cells. Furthermore, MSC-conditioned esophageal squamous carcinoma cells displayed increased invasiveness in a transwell system. Conclusions: By promoting EMT-related phenomena, MSC appear to favor the improvement of aggressiveness and invasiveness of esophageal squamous carcinoma cells. Thus, MSCs may contribute to inducing EMT of esophageal squamous carcinoma cells. Disclosure: All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.