Fig. 3: MSCs enhance the quality and quantity of mitochondria to promote progression of bladder cancer. | Cell Death & Disease

Fig. 3: MSCs enhance the quality and quantity of mitochondria to promote progression of bladder cancer.

From: Mesenchymal stem cells in tumor microenvironment: drivers of bladder cancer progression through mitochondrial dynamics and energy production

Fig. 3

Immunofluorescence and flow cytometry showed the MMP of UMUC-3 was augmented subsequent to co-culture with MSCs (a, b). Seahorse mito-stress assays showed the basal cellular OCR, ATP production, and maximum respiration were significantly elevated in UMUC3 cells after co-culture with MSCs compared to the control (c–f). Electron Microscopy of the UMUC-3 cancer cells showed an increase in the number of healthy mitochondria (white puncta) and in autophagic flux (red puncta) after co-cultured with MSCs (g). MSCs-treated cancer cells in vitro showed higher levels of PINK1, PARK2 (h), DRP1, TFAM (i), PGC1α, NRF1, and TFAM (j). Immunofluorescence of the tumor tissue showed the co-injection and MSC group had higher expression levels of PGC-1, NRF1, and TFAM than the control (k). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001.

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