Fig. 2

Morphological changes in hMSCs require direct contact with cancer cells. a control hMSCs. b hMSCs cultured in the upper chamber of a transwell culture system in which MCF7 cells were cultured in the lower chamber. c, d MCF7 cells were seeded on one side of 5 mm dish while FaDu cells were seeded on the opposing side of the same dish, and when cells were attached hMSCs were added to the culture: hMSCs in contact with c, d MCF7 cells or e, f FaDu cells. On day 7, photomicrographs were taken using a Nikon^® ECLIPSE Ti-U inverted fluorescence microscope (magnification 4×). GFP green fluorescent protein, hMSC human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal (stromal) stem cell, DIC differential interference contrast