Effect of human pulmonary MSCs isolated from normal and tumor tissues on the expression profile of primary lung cancer cells

Metastasis is a multi-step process that involves a direct cross-talk between cancer cells and their microenvironment. Here we assess the effect of paired mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) isolated from the tumor tissue (T-) and normal lung adjacent tissue (N-) on the expression profile of primary lung cancer cells. We observed that MSCs induce the expression of tumor genes associated with a more aggressive phenotype and promote early tumor cell dissemination. Our observations provide new insight into mechanisms whereby MSCs promote lung cancer metastasis.