Antitumor effects of conditioned media of human fetal dermal mesenchymal stem cells on melanoma cells

Background: Malignant melanoma is the most lethal form of cutaneous tumor and has a high metastatic rate and motility capacity. Owing to the poor prognosis, it is urgent to seek an effective therapeutic regimen. Human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can home to tumor cells and have been shown to play important roles in both promoting and inhibiting tumor development. Fetal dermal MSCs (FDMSCs), derived from fetal skin are a novel source of MSCs. Nevertheless, the antitumor capacity of FDMSCs on malignant melanoma is not clearly understood. Materials and methods: FDMSCs were extracted from the dorsal skin of fetal tissues. A375 melanoma cells lines were obtained from American Type Culture Collection. The effects of conditioned media from FDMSCs (CM-FDMSC) on A375 melanoma cells were tested in vivo using tumor formation assay and in vitro using cell viability, 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine incorporation, flow cytometry, TdT-mediated dUTP Nick-End Labeling (TUNEL), wound healing, transwell invasion, and Western blotting. Results: CM-FDMSC inhibited A375 tumor formation in vivo. In vitro, CM-FDMSC inhibited the tumor-related activities of A375 melanoma cells, as evidenced reductions in viability, migration, and invasion. CM-FDMSC-treated A375 cells showed decreased phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), protein kinase B (AKT), and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation, and up-regulation of Bcl-2-Associated X (BAX) and down-regulation of B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) expression. Conclusion: CM-FDMSC can inhibit the tumor-forming behaviors of A375 melanoma cells and inhibit PI3K/AKT and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling to shift their BCL-2/BAX ratio toward a proapoptotic state. Identification of the bioactive components in CM-FDMSC will be important for translating these findings into novel therapies for malignant melanoma.