Primary cancer-associated fibroblasts exhibit high heterogeneity among breast cancer subtypes

• Published in: Reports of practical oncology and radiotherapy Vol. 28; no. 2; pp. 159 - 171
• Main Authors: Piwocka, Oliwia, Musielak, Marika, Piotrowski, Igor, Kulcenty, Katarzyna, Adamczyk, Beata, Fundowicz, Magdalena, Suchorska, Wiktoria Maria, Malicki, Julian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Poland Via Medica 2023
• Subjects: Research Paper; breast cancer; cancer-associated fibroblasts; primary culture; cells isolation; tumour heterogeneity
• ISSN: 1507-1367; 2083-4640
• DOI: 10.5603/RPOR.a2023.0026

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are a diverse subset of cells, that is recently gaining in popularity and have the potential to become a new target for breast cancer (BC) therapy; however, broader research is required to understand their mechanisms and interactions with breast cancer cells. The goal of the study was to isolate CAFs from breast cancer tumour and characterise isolated cell lines. We concentrated on numerous CAF biomarkers that would enable their differentiation. Flow cytometry, immunofluorescence, and reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) were used to phenotype the primary CAFs. According to our findings, there was no significant pattern in the classification of cancer-associated fibroblasts. The results of biomarkers expression were heterogeneous, thus no specific subtypes were identified. Furthermore, a comparison of cancer-associated fibroblasts derived from different BC subtypes (luminal A and B, triple-negative, HER2 positive) did not reveal any clear trend of expression.