Tumor Stroma in Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma Interstitial Collagen and Tumor Interstitial Fluid Pressure

Abstract: Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is an aggressive malignancy in man with stromal fibrosis as one of the main features. Carcinoma cells synthesized no or little collagen I protein. Pro-?1(I) collagen mRNA was expressed by stromal cells throughout the tumor, but expression of procollagen type I protein was restricted to stromal cells situated close to nests of carcinoma cells. These data suggest that the carcinoma cells stimulated collagen type I deposition by increasing pro-?1(1) collagen mRNA translation. Cocultures, of the human ATC cell line KAT-4, with fibroblasts under conditions that allow the study of stimulatory factors on collagen mRNA translation, showed that the KAT-4 cells stimulated collagen type I protein synthesis in fibroblasts. Specific inhibitors of PDGF and TGF-?1 and -?3 were able to inhibit this carcinoma cell-induced stimulation of collagen type I synthesis. These findings suggest that tumor cells were able to stimulate collagen mRNA translation in stromal fibroblasts by, at least in part, transferring PDGF and/or TGF-?1 and -?3.Xenograft transplantation of different ATC cell lines into athymic mice demonstrated that the low collagen producing carcinoma cell lines were less tumorigenic compared to non-collagen producing carcinoma cell lines. The morphology of tumors derived from non-collagen producing ATC cell lines showed a well demarked stroma surrounding carcinoma cell nests. TGF-?1 and -?3 were found to play a role in generating a high tumor interstitial fluid pressure (TIPF) in experimental KAT-4 tumors. A specific inhibitor of TGF-?1 and -?3 was able to lower TIPF and reduce tumor growth after a prolonged period of treatment, suggesting that TGF-?1 and -?3 have a role in maintaining a stroma that support tumor growth.