Key Points:
1. MiR-21 was up-regulated in hypopharyngeal cancer tissue and FaDu
cells.
2. The overall particle concentration of exosomes from Fadu cells was
4.2E+10 particles/mL and the diameter of these exosomes was 117.1nm
mostly.
3. The expression level of α-SMA and FAP in hBMSCs increased when hBMSCs
and exosomes from Fadu cell line were co-cultured, suggesting exosomes
from FaDu cells mediated induction of CAF-like features in hBMSCs.
4. The expression level of α-SMA and FAP in hBMSCs decreased when we
co-cultured hBMSCs and exosomes from Fadu cell line with miR-21 gene
knocked out, suggesting miR-21 mediated induction of CAF-like features
in hBMSCs.
5. During the transition of hBMSCs to CAFs, cell proportion of G1 phase
significantly decreased, while the cell proportion of G2 phase
significantly increased compared to the control and this phenomenon was
reversed in miR-21 knock-out experiment.