gms | German Medical Science

Introduction: Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSC) are multipotent, fibroblast-like progenitor cells. Their role in inflammatory tissue and tumor environment has been of highest interest in the past years. Yet, very little is known about MSC from tumor tissue (tMSC) and modulation of MSC by tumor-derived factors. The aims of this study were to isolate and characterize MSC from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and to identify cell biological differences between MSC from healthy mucosa (cMSC) and tMSC.

Material and Methods: We isolated MSC from tumor tissue and non-malignant mucosa from the same Patients. To check if the isolated cells meet the consensus criteria for MSC, immunophenotyping, immunofluorescence and in vitro differentiation were performed. Next, we compared tMSC and cMSC regarding their surface marker expression. Cytokine production was investigated by Luminex. Finally, we treated cMSC with the supernatant of HNSCC cells and monitored the resulting cell biological changes.

Results: Immunophenotyping of tMSC and cMSC demonstrated that MSC meet consensus criteria. Trilineage differentiation was shown both for tMSC and cMSC. TMSC showed an increased expression of integrins and adhesion molecules and a higher, constitutive expression of chemokines and cytokines, suggesting an “activated” phenotype. Supernatant from tumor cells induced integrin expression, inflammatory cytokines and down regulation of homeostatic SDF-1a in cMSC.

Conclusions: MSCs were successfully isolated and expanded from malignant HNSCC tissue. Isolated tMSC showed an activated phenotype. Tumor-derived factors induce a similar pattern of activation in cMSC. These data suggest that intratumoral MSC are functionally modulated by HNSCC cells within the tumor microenvironment.

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