Fig. 1

CAF-CM induces mesenchymal phenotypes in A549 cell. a Bright-field images of CAF conditioned medium or control treated A549 cells at 3, 24and 72 h. CAF-CM treated A549 cells showed the loss of cell-cell contact and scattering phenotypes at 24 and 72 h, while control cells maintained the epithelial cobblestone shape. b DAPI staining images of CAF conditioned and control medium treated A549 cells at 3, 24 and 72 h subject to Transwell matrigel. CAF-CM treated cells showed enhanced migratory and invasive properties than control at 3, 24 and 72 h. c Quantitative analysis of Transwell assay showed enhanced migratory and invasive properties after CAF-CM treatment. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001; t-test