In Vitro Analyses of Interactions Between Colonic Myofibroblasts and Colorectal Cancer Cells for Anticancer Study

Abstract

Background/aim: Interactions between colorectal cancer (CRC) cells and myofibroblasts govern many processes such as cell growth, migration, invasion and differentiation, and contribute to CRC progression. Robust experimental tests are needed to investigate the nature of these interactions for future anticancer studies. The purpose of the study was to design and validate in vitro assays for studying the communication between myofibroblasts and CRC epithelial cell lines.

Materials and methods: The influence of co-culture of myofibroblasts and CRC cell lines is discussed using various in vitro assays including direct co-culture, transwell assays, Matrigel-based differentiation and cell invasion experiments.

Results: The results from these in vitro assays clearly demonstrated various aspects of the crosstalk between myofibroblasts and CRC cell lines, which include cell growth, differentiation, migration and invasion.

Conclusion: The reported in vitro assays provide a basis for investigating the factors that control the myofibroblast-epithelial cell interactions in CRC in vivo.

Keywords: Neoplasms; colon; tumour heterogeneity; tumour microenvironment.