Mesenchymal stem cells up-regulate the invasive potential of prostate cancer cells via the eotaxin-3/CCR3 axis.

This study aimed to clarify the role of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as a component of the cancer microenvironment. We investigated the homing-related chemokine expression levels of MSCs treated with a prostate cancer cell line (PC-3) -conditioned medium. Among several homing chemokines, an antibody array revealed that expression of eotaxin-3 (but not eotxin-1 and -2) was highly enhanced in MSCs treated with PC-3-conditioned medium. A gene expression array showed significantly increased expression of CCR3, a receptor of eotaxin-3, in PC-3. In a matrigel invasion assay, interferon-gamma, a specific inhibitor of eotaxin-related homing, significantly reduced the transmigration of PC-3 cells, under co-cultured condition with MSCs, in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05). Consistent with these results, anti-CCR3 antibody successfully reduced PC-3 migration under the co-cultured condition. These findings suggest that MSCs to modulation of the invasive potential of prostate cancer cells via the eotaxin-3/CCR3 axis.