Fig. 1.

Establishment of CAFs and NFs from HNSCC and their characteristics. Flow cytometry analysis of CAFs and NFs generated from resected tumor samples of patients with HNSCC. Primary cultures of CAFs and NFs were stained with CD11b, CD34, CD45, CD90, FAP, and α-SMA. CAFs and NFs were both negative for CD11b, CD34, and CD45, and positive for CD90 and FAP. α-SMA expression levels in CAFs were higher than those in NFs. a Representative data from one cancer patient. The expression of co-stimulatory and co-regulatory molecules on CAFs and NFs. Flow cytometry was performed as described in the “Materials and methods” section. b Representative data from one cancer patient. CAFs and NFs were both negative for CD80, CD86, and B7H3. The expression levels of B7H1 and B7DC in CAFs were higher than those in NFs. Up-regulation of cytokine genes in CAFs from HNSCC patients. c Total RNA was extracted from the generated CAFs and NFs, and increases in the expression levels of IL6, CXCL8, TNF, TGFB1, and/or VEGFA were detected by real-time qRT-PCR