Article
Oral squamous cell carcinoma derived stromal cells influence phenotypic characteristics of keratinocytes
Search Medline for
Authors
Published: | April 22, 2008 |
---|
Outline
Text
Head and neck squamous cell cancer is appreciated as disease of epithelial cells. However the microenvironment established by stromal cells could influence phenotypic aspects of epithelial cells and may be relevant for tumor and stem cell biology. We address this issue for keratinocytes using tumor-derived stroma cells in a co-culture system.
We isolated stromal cells from human oral squamous cell carcinoma tissue and studied their effect on phenotypic characteristics of normal human interfollicular keratinocytes in vitro.
Stromal fibroblasts significantly influenced immuno- and lectin cytochemical properties of co-cultured normal keratinocytes. Expression of keratins 8 and 19, the nucleolar protein nucleostemin, parameters related to adhesion/growth-regulatory galectins and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition were altered. This biological activity of tumor-derived stromal cells, which did not require cell contact, appeared to be stable, because it was maintained during passaging of keratinocytes in the absence of cancer cells.
Tumor-derived stromal fibroblasts acquire distinct properties to shape a microenvironment conducive to altering the phenotypic characteristics of normal epithelial cells in vitro. There is a potential that tumor derived stromal cells can influence phenotypic characteristics of cells of squamous epithelia in vivo and thus participate during malignant transformation.
This study was supported by the projects MSM0021620806 and 1M0021620803, NR 9049-3 and MRTN-CT- 2005-019561).