Mesenchymal stem cells in local fat depots stimulate breast cancer growth, invasion and desmoplasia

Studies investigating the role of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in mammary carcinogenesis have almost exclusively relied on isolates from bone marrow aspirates or non-breast fat sources often making the general assumption that all MSCs are alike. Here we conduct the first extensive analysis of human breast adipose MSCs to define similarities and differences to MSCs isolated from non-breast sources (subcutaneous abdominal tissue) and bone marrow.