Stromal-epithelial crosstalk provides a suitable microenvironment for the progression of ovarian cancer cells in vitro

Abstract

The tumor microenvironment plays an important role in the progression of cancer. This study focused on carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and stromal-epithelial interaction between CAFs and epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC) cells. We isolated and established primary cultures of CAFs and co-cultured CAFs and EOC cells in vitro. The co-culture conditioned medium (CC-CM) was harvested and its influence on EOC cells was examined. Cytokine, chemokine, and growth factor levels were screened using a biotin label-based human antibody array system. We found that the stromal-epithelial crosstalk provided a suitable microenvironment for the progression of ovarian cancer cells in vitro.