Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is enriched in
ascites of
ovarian cancer patients and is involved in growth and invasion of
ovarian cancer cells. Accumulating evidence suggests
cancer-associated myofibroblasts play a pivotal role in
tumorigenesis through secreting stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1). In the present study, we demonstrate that LPA induces expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA), a marker for myofibroblasts, in human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hADSCs). The LPA-induced expression of alpha-SMA was completely abrogated by pretreatment of the cells with
Ki16425, an antagonist of
LPA receptors, or by silencing LPA(1) or LPA(2)
isoform expression with small interference RNA (
siRNA). LPA elicited phosphorylation of Smad2/3, and
siRNA-mediated depletion of endogenous Smad2/3 or adenoviral expression of Smad7, an inhibitory Smad, abrogated the LPA induced expression of alpha-SMA and phosphorylation of Smad2/3. LPA-induced secretion of
transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 in hADSCs, and pretreatment of the cells with
SB431542, a
TGF-beta type I receptor kinase inhibitor, or anti-TGF-beta1
neutralizing antibody inhibited the LPA-induced expression of alpha-SMA and phosphorylation of Smad2. Furthermore,
ascites from
ovarian cancer patients or
conditioned medium from
ovarian cancer cells induced expression of alpha-SMA and phosphorylation of Smad2, and pretreatment of the cells with
Ki16425 or
SB431542 abrogated the expression of alpha-SMA and phosphorylation of Smad2. In addition, LPA increased the expression of SDF-1 in hADSCs, and pretreatment of the cells with
Ki16425 or SB431562 attenuated the LPA-stimulated expression of SDF-1. These results suggest that
cancer-derived LPA stimulates differentiation of hADSCs to myofibroblast-like cells and increases SDF-1 expression through activating autocrine TGF-beta1-Smad signaling pathway.