Enhancement of mucus accumulation in a human gastric scirrhous carcinoma cell line (KATO-III) by fibroblast-tumor cell interaction.

Human fibroblasts (WI-38 cells) were found to enhance mucus accumulation by human scirrhous carcinoma cells (KATO-III cells). Coculture of KATO-III with WI-38 cells resulted in enlargement of the KATO-III cells and increases in the proportions of PAS- and colloidal iron-positive KATO-III cells. These morphological alterations were reversed when the KATO-III cells were again cultured without WI-38 cells. Conditioned media from cultures of WI-38 cells or cocultures of KATO-III and WI-38 cells induced the same morphological alterations in KATO-III cells, suggesting that WI-38 cells produce a factor or factors that enhance mucus accumulation in KATO-III cells. This factor seemed to be a protein with a molecular weight of more than 10,000 daltons.