Role of Tumor Associated Fibroblasts in Human Liver Regeneration, Cirrhosis, and Cancer

Figure 5

L-MASCs cultured in the presence of tumor-conditioned medium (CM) acquire an activated phenotype. (a–u) Protein expression of TAF-markers. L-MASCs cultured in non-CM (a, d, g, j, m, p, s), in HepG2-CM (b, e, h, k, n, q, t), and in Huh7-CM (c, f, i, l, o, r, u) were assessed for the expression of vimentin (green fluorescence, (a–c)), nestin (green fluorescence, (d–f)), cytokeratines (green fluorescence, (g–i)), desmin (green fluorescence, (j–l)), smooth muscle actin (green fluorescence, (m–o)), tenascin-C (p–r)), and VEGF (green fluorescence, (s–u)). Nuclei are depicted by the blue fluorescence of DAPI staining. Scale bar = 30 μm (a–o), 20 μm (p–u). (v) mRNA expression of TAF markers. Representative RT-PCR evaluating the expression of THBS1, FSP1, FAP, ACTA2, and GAPDH in L-MASCs cultured in non-CM, HepG2-CM, and Huh7-CM, respectively. HeLa was utilized as positive control (+).