Omental adipose tissue-derived stromal cells promote vascularization and growth of endometrial tumors.

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Purpose Adipose tissue contains a population of tumor-tropic mesenchymal progenitors, termed adipose stromal cells (ASC), which engraft in neighboring tumors to form supportive tumor stroma. We hypothesized that intra-abdominal visceral adipose tissue may contain a uniquely tumor-promoting population of ASC to account for the relationship between excess visceral adipose tissue and mortality of intra-abdominal cancers. Experimental design To investigate this, we isolated and characterized ASC from intra-abdominal omental adipose tissue (O-ASC) and characterized their effects on endometrial cancer progression as compared with subcutaneous adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (SC-ASC), bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (BM-MSC), and lung fibroblasts. To model chronic recruitment of ASC by tumors, cells were injected metronomically into mice bearing Hec1a xenografts. Results O-ASC expressed cell surface markers characteristic of BM-MSC and differentiated into mesenchymal lineages. Coculture with O-ASC increased endometrial cancer cell proliferation in vitro. Tumor tropism of O-ASC and SC-ASC for human Hec1a endometrial tumor xenografts was comparable, but O-ASC more potently promoted tumor growth. Compared with tumors in SC-ASC-injected mice, tumors in O-ASC-injected mice contained higher numbers of large tortuous desmin-positive blood vessels, which correlated wit

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

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