Cancer-associated fibroblast regulate proliferation and migration of prostate cancer cells through TGF-β signaling pathway

Aims Prostate cancer (PCa) incidence rates are rising in China currently. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), as a major component of tumor microenvironment, are crucial for tumor progression. This study was aimed to explore the promotion effect of patient-derived CAFs on the proliferation and migration of prostate cancer cells. Main methods CAFs were isolated from tumor tissues of PCa patients. The promotion effect of CAFs on the proliferation and migration of PC-3 and LNCaP cells were evaluated in vitro and in vivo . The concentration of TGF-β1 was measured by Luminex assay. The blocking activity of LY2109761 on the promotion effect of CAFs was also evaluated. Key findings CAFs could significantly promote the proliferation and migration of PC-3 and LNCaP cells both in vitro and in vivo . TGF-β1 was identified as a highly increased factor in CAFs-CM compared with the normal culture medium of these two cancer cell lines. TGF-β receptor inhibitor LY2109761 could suppress the CAFs-induced cellular proliferation and migration of PC-3 cells but not LNCaP cells. Significance Our study suggested a crucial role for CAFs and TGF-β signaling in the progression of PCa. Zebrafish xenograft model was an ideal animal model for the study of CAFs and cancer cell interaction.