Adipose stromal cell targeting suppresses prostate cancer epithelial-mesenchymal transition and chemoresistance

Oncogene. 2019 Mar;38(11):1979-1988. doi: 10.1038/s41388-018-0558-8. Epub 2018 Oct 25.

Abstract

Fat tissue, overgrowing in obesity, promotes the progression of various carcinomas. Clinical and animal model studies indicate that adipose stromal cells (ASC), the progenitors of adipocytes, are recruited by tumors and promote tumor growth as tumor stromal cells. Here, we investigated the role of ASC in cancer chemoresistance and invasiveness, the attributes of tumor aggressiveness. By using human cell co-culture models, we demonstrate that ASC induce epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in prostate cancer cells. Our results for the first time demonstrate that ASC interaction renders cancer cells more migratory and resistant to docetaxel, cabazitaxel, and cisplatin chemotherapy. To confirm these findings in vivo, we compared cancer aggressiveness in lean and obese mice grafted with prostate tumors. We show that obesity promotes EMT in cancer cells and tumor invasion into the surrounding fat tissue. A hunter-killer peptide D-CAN, previously developed for targeted ASC ablation, suppressed the obesity-associated EMT and cancer progression. Importantly, cisplatin combined with D-CAN was more effective than cisplatin alone in suppressing growth of mouse prostate cancer allografts and xenografts even in non-obese mice. Our data demonstrate that ASC promote tumor aggressiveness and identify them as a target of combination cancer therapy.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adipose Tissue / drug effects
  • Adipose Tissue / metabolism
  • Adipose Tissue / pathology*
  • Animals
  • Anti-Obesity Agents / administration & dosage
  • Anti-Obesity Agents / pharmacology
  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / therapeutic use
  • Cell Movement / drug effects
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm* / drug effects
  • Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition* / drug effects
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Molecular Targeted Therapy / methods
  • Neoplasm Invasiveness
  • Obesity / complications
  • Obesity / metabolism
  • Obesity / pathology
  • PC-3 Cells
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / drug therapy
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Reactive Oxygen Species / metabolism
  • Stromal Cells / drug effects
  • Stromal Cells / metabolism
  • Stromal Cells / pathology
  • Tumor Microenvironment / drug effects
  • Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Substances

  • Anti-Obesity Agents
  • Reactive Oxygen Species