Abstract
Cancer-associated fibroblasts are bioactive elements influencing the biological properties of malignant tumors. Their origin from different cell types has been established, and the possibility of their formation by epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition from cancer cells is under debate. This study shows that human cancer cells grafted to nu/nu mice induced formation of tumor stroma with the presence of typical smooth muscle actin-containing cancer-associated fibroblasts. These cells seem to be of the host origin because they are not recognized by an antibody specific for human vimentin, as was also verified in vitro. These results suggest that cancer-associated stromal fibroblasts are not formed by epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition from cancer cells.
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