Figure 3.

The effect of co-culturing on the proliferative potential of cancer cells and the transformation of fibroblasts into cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). (A) 24 h of the co-culturing of fibroblasts and cancer cells lowered the level of Ki67 protein in cancer cells, while the expression of α-SMA in the fibroblasts increased only after 72 h (B). Bar = 50 µm. The ratio of the fluorescence of Ki67 to β-actin in the cancer cells monoculture was assumed to be 1. Asterisks indicate a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05). All the experiments were performed in triplicate with similar results, and representative data from one experiment are shown in the figure.