Abstract: Objective To study the effect of human adipose tissue derived MSCs (haMSC) in breast tumor micro-environment on breast cancer cells. Methods Breast cancer cell lines (MCF7) were cultured alone or indirectly co-cultured with MSCs using transwell system. The co-cultured MCF7 cells were collected for analysis of the changes in morphology, EMT related marker and tumor characteristics. Results Following indirect co-culture with MSCs, breast cancer cells morphology and EMT specific markers altered in response to MSCs. The invasive capacity and migration ability of MCF7 cells post co-cultured with MSCs were significantly enhanced, while no changes were observed in cell cycle and proliferation. Conclusion Human adipose tissue derived MSCs can stimulate epithelial to mesenchymal transition of breast cancer cells.

Key words: Mesenchymal stem cell, Breast cancer, Epithelial to mesenchymal transition, Tumor metastasis