Cancer-associated adipocytes microRNA

The role of adipocytes in cancer microenvironment has gained focus during the recent years. However, the characteristics of the cancer-associated adipocytes (CAA) in human breast cancer tissues and the underlying regulatory mechanism are not clearly understood. We reviewed pathology specimens of breast cancer patients to understand the morphologic characteristics of CAA, and profiled the mRNA and miRNA expression of CAA by using indirect co-culture system in vitro. We analyzed transcriptional changes in adipocytes (3T3-L1) induced by the paracrine effect of breast cancer cell MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 by using indirect co-culture system. Differentiated adipocytes were cultured in the bottom chamber of the transwell co-culture system with or without the breast cancer cells seeded in the top inserts. After the co-culture for certain periods, the adipocytes at the bottom wells were collected and used for further analysis.