BackgroundThe discovery of cancer stem cells and tumor heterogeneity prompted the exploration of additional mechanisms aside from genetic mutations for carcinogenesis and cancer progression. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of cell fusion between mesenchymal stem cells and the gastric epithelial cells in tumorigenesis.MethodsCell fusion between cord blood mesenchymal stem cells and human gastric epithelial cells was performed in vitro. Cell scratch and transwell assays were performed to determine migration and invasion abilities of the hybrids. The expressions of epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related proteins and genes were analyzed by immunocytochemistry and real time quantitative PCR. Tumorigenesis of the hybrids was evaluated through in vivo inoculation in nude mice.ResultsHybrids expressed the phenotypes of both donor cells. Aneuploidy was observed in 84.1% of cells. The hybrids showed increased proliferation, migration and invasion abilities compared with the parental cells. In addition, the expression of N-cadherin and vimentin in the hybrids was significantly higher than that of the epithelial cells, and the mRNA expression of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related genes, Twist and Slug, in the hybrids was also increased compared with that of the parental epithelial cells. Furthermore, the hybrids formed masses of epithelial origin with glandular structures in BALB/c nude mice.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that cell fusion between gastric epithelial cells and mesenchymal stem cells may result in epithelial to mesenchymal transition and malignant transformation.

AB STRACT: The pur pose of this research was to explore the fol low ing objec tives for infer tile cou ples receiv ing infer til ity treat ment: Dif fer ences between wives and hus bands in their emo tional reac tions and cop ing behav iors. This research, using struc tured ques tion naires, was based on 120 infer tile cou ples attend ing the Intrauterine Insem i na tion (IUI) or the In Vitro Fer til iza tion-Embryo Trans fer (IVF-ET) pro gram. The research instru ments con sisted of Demo graphic Data Form, Pro file of Mood States (POMS), and Ways of Coping Ques tion naire. The research results showed that infer tile wives expe ri enced more emo tional dis tur bance than hus bands did, as shown in the four subscales of Ten sion-Anxiety, Depres sion-Dejection, Anger-Hostility, and Fatigue-Inertia, as well as the total scale of POMS. It was also shown that wives adopted more cop ing behav iors to deal with infer til ity and treat ment than hus bands did, as revealed in the subscales of Self-Controlling, Seeking Social Sup port and Escape-Avoidance and the total scale of the Ways of Coping Ques tion naire. All of the above reached sig nif i cant sta tis ti cal dif fer ences. The emo tional reac tions of infer tile cou ples var i ed with the dif fer ences in edu ca tion lev els, dura tion of treat ment, num ber of treat ments received, and num bers of exist ing chil dren. The emo tional reac tions of infer tile hus bands had a sig nif i cantly pos i tive cor re la tion with the fac tors Con fronting, Accepting Respon si bil ity, and Escape-Avoidance. The emo tional reac tions of wives had a sig nif i cantly neg a tive cor re la tion with Pos i tive Reap praisal. The research results can pro vide clin i cal staff with a cor rect under stand ing of the dif fer ences between hus bands and wives in emo tional reac tions and cop ing behav ior, as well as related fac tors, to help them to pro vide better med i cal treat ment. Key Words:In fer til ity, as sisted re pro duc tive tech nol ogy, emo tional re ac tion, cop ing be hav ior.