Gene expression profile of human primary pericytes and colorectal cancer HCT-116 cells from co-cultures or monocultures

Cancer growth and metastasis are regulated to a great extent by stromal cells within the tumor microenvironment. Tumor blood vessel components (endothelial cells and mural cells) are also ubiquitous within tumors, and yet, the impact of these tumor-resident cells is scarcely understood beyond oxygen and nutrients supply. Our hypothesis is that the interaction between stromal cells and tumor cells is bidirectional: tumor cells can modulate their peripheral environment that in turn becomes more favorable to tumor growth. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed the transcriptome of human pericytes and colon cancer cells after being cocultured for 48h in comparison with the same cells in monoculture.

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