Figure 1
Interactions of stromal fibroblasts and prostate cancer. Coculture of HS27A bone stromal fibroblasts with prostate cancer LNCaP (HS27A-LN) and C4-2 (HS27A-C4-2) cells as tumoroids or alone (HS27A) under 3D-RWV culture conditions (a,b). Microscopic images of cultures were taken on day 14, and the size (a) and number of tumoroids were calculated. Each condition was performed in duplicate vessels for three independent experiments. A representative image of each group is shown at the top. Quantitative data are represented as a box–whisker plot of triplicate experiments. Tumor-promoting effect of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in a xenograph mouse model (c,d). Nude mice were subcutaneously implanted with C4-2 prostate cancer cells, either alone (C4-2) or mixed with HS27A pre-cultured with LNCaP (HS27ALN) or C4-2 (HS27AC4-2) (c), or primary cultured prostate fibroblasts derived from benign/normal prostate (BAF) or prostate cancer (CAF) tissues of the same patients (d). Eight mice were used in each group and independently conducted twice. Tumor growth was monitored weekly, and the results are presented as representative images of two independent experiments (top) and a box–whisker plot of median tumor volumes (bottom) of each group (n = 16 per group; two independent experiments pooled) at the end of the experiment (8 weeks after cell inoculation). Boxes (a–d) encompass the 25th to 75th percentiles, and the whiskers represent the 10%–90% range of observations. Lines within boxes represent median values. *p < 0.001.
