Mesenchymal stem cell-like cells derived from human gastric cancer tissues.

Huiling Cao, Wenrong Xu, Hui Qian, Wei Zhu, Yongmin Yan, Hongxing Zhou, Xu Zhang, Xuejing Xu, Jigang Li, Zhong Chen, Xiaomeng Xu

School of Medical Science and Laboratory Medicine, Key Institute of Clinical Laboratory Science, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212001, PR China. chl_208@yahoo.com.cn

Cancer letters 2009 Feb 8

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Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been identified in and isolated from numerous human tissues. The characteristics of mesenchymal stem cells, including their plasticity, the secretion of cytokines, and their low immunogenicity, contribute to their therapeutic potential. It has recently been reported that MSCs are also involved in tumorigenesis and its prognosis. Here, we present the first report of MSC-like cells isolated from human gastric cancer tissues. In our study, gastric cancer-derived MSC-like cells (hGC-MSCs) were isolated from 13 out of 20 cancer tissue samples. Their characteristics, including their morphology, surface antigens, specific gene expression, and differentiation potential, were similar to those of MSCs derived from human bone marrow (hBM-MSCs) but different from gastric cancer cells. The existence of MSC-like cells in gastric cancer tissues suggests that they may be potential targets for cancer therapy and provides an experimental foundation for investigating their role in the initiation and progression of gastric cancers.

Citation

Huiling Cao, Wenrong Xu, Hui Qian, Wei Zhu, Yongmin Yan, Hongxing Zhou, Xu Zhang, Xuejing Xu, Jigang Li, Zhong Chen, Xiaomeng Xu. Mesenchymal stem cell-like cells derived from human gastric cancer tissues. Cancer letters. 2009 Feb 8;274(1):61-71