Human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells induce collagen production and tongue cancer invasion.

Tumor microenvironment (TME) is an active player in carcinogenesis and changes in its composition modify cancer growth. Carcinoma-associated fibroblasts, bone marrow-derived multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs), and inflammatory cells can all affect the composition of TME leading to changes in proliferation, invasion and metastasis formation of carcinoma cells. In this study, we confirmed an interaction between BMMSCs and oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC) cells by analyzing the invasion progression and gene expression pattern.