Obesity Enhances the Conversion of Adipose-Derived Stromal/Stem Cells into Carcinoma-Associated Fibroblast Leading to Cancer Cell Proliferation and Progression to an Invasive Phenotype

Figure 4

MCF7 cells demonstrated enhanced expression of cytokines following serial coculture. MCF7 cells were passaged or sorted after cocultured with lnASCs or obASCs for 7 days. The gene expression of various cytokines and chemokines in MCF7 cells was assessed by qRT-PCR prior to coculture (naïve) and after one coculture (c1). These lnMCF7(c1) and obMCF7(c1) cells were serially cocultured for another 7, 14, and 21 days to generate lnMCF7(c4) and obMCF7(c4) after four serial cocultures. This lnMCF7(c4) and obMCF7(c4) cells were sorted, and the expression of various factors was assessed by qRT-PCR and normalized to the levels observed in naïve MCF7 cells. Bar: ± SEM. CC: coculture. ^#; ^##; ^### between naive MCF7 and MCF7s exposed to obASCs. ^Φ; ^ΦΦ; ^ΦΦΦ between MCF7 cells exposed to lnASCs and MCF7 cells exposed to obASCs. and between naive MCF7 and MCF7s exposed to lnASCs.