Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells involve in lymphangiogenesis of lung cancer

Lymphangiogenesis plays an important role in the cancer metastasis. Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) migrate to the site of tumorigenesis and in turn promote the metastasis. In order to investigate the involvement of BM-MSCs in lymphangiogenesis of lung cancer, we prepared a Lewis lung tumor model in chimeric mice that established by transplanting BM from green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgenic mice (C57BL/6-EGFP) into irradiated C57BL/6 mice. GFP-positive cells existed in bone marrow of acceptor mice revealed the success of the transplantation. Observation of GFP-positive cells in tumor slice demonstrated that BM-MSCs transformed into the lung tumor. Immunohistochemical analyses of lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor-1 (LYVE-1) demonstrated a part of lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) in lung cancer were derived from BM-MSCs, and those LECs contributed to the lung tumor lymphangiogenesis (Figure 1). Furthermore, we found an oral liquid formulation of Chinese herbal drugs, Jinfukang inhibited the lymphangiogenesis. Our findings suggest that BM-MSCs transform to tumor, differentiate into LECs, and involve in the lymphangiogenesis in lung cancer of mice. The results might provide a potential for the lung cancer therapies.