Gastric cancer derived exosomes induce peritoneal mesothelial cell EMT through TGF-β1/Smads pathway to promote peritoneal metastasis

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays an important role in peritoneal metastasis of Gastric cancer (GC). Tumor exosomes can mediate tumor directed metastasis, and TGF-β1 is an important factor in inducing tumor Epithelial mesenchymal transition. However, it is not clear whether GC derived exosomes can induce peritoneal mesothelial cells through the TGF-β1/ Smads pathway and the effect of injured peritoneal mesothelial cells on the biological characteristics of GC cells. In this study, we demonstrated that GC-derived exosomes can activate the TGF-β1/Smads pathway in peritoneal mesothelial cells and induce the corresponding EMT process, and that the injured peritoneal mesothelial cells can improve the migration and adhesion of GC cells. Taken together, these data further support the critical role of exosomes in the remodeling of the pre-metastatic microenvironment.