Figure 3

The cytokine-mediated crosstalk between Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) and Ovarian Cancer Cells (OCCs) leads to a shift in MSCs phenotype resulting in tumorigenesis promotion. MSCs are recruited to tumor stroma from a peri-vascular niche. Their engraftment is associated with phenotypic modulations in response to tumor-derived secreted factors. Primed MSCs support tumor growth and self-renewal. Their differentiation in cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) contributes to stromal modifications suitable for tumor expansion and stimulates angiogenesis. We highlight the role of HOXA9 expression that results in transcriptional activation of the gene encoding TGFβ2 inducing in turn CAFs expression VEGF.