Reverse of non-small cell lung cancer drug resistance induced by cancer-associated fibroblasts via a paracrine pathway

The tumor microenvironment orchestrates the sustained growth, metastasis and recurrence of Cancer. As an indispensable component of the tumor microenvironment, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) are considered as an essential synthetic machine producing various tumor components, leading to Cancer sustained stemness, drug resistance and tumor recurrence. Here, we developed a sustainable primary culture of lung Cancer cells fed with lung cancer-associated fibroblasts, resulting in enrichment and acquisition of drug resistance in Cancer cells. Moreover, IGF2/Akt/Sox2/ABCB1 signaling activation in Cancer cells was observed in the presence of CAF, which induces upregulation of P-glycoprotein expression and the drug resistance of non-small cell lung Cancer cells. Our results demonstrated that CAF cells constitute a mechanism for Cancer Drug Resistance. Thus, traditional chemotherapy combined with insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) signaling inhibitor may present an innovative therapeutic strategy for non-small cell lung Cancer therapy.