Additional file 1: of MiR-16 regulates the pro-tumorigenic potential of lung fibroblasts through the inhibition of HGF production in an FGFR-1- and MEK1-dependent manner

Figure S1. In vitro characterization of the immortalized CAF154 fibroblasts. The constitutive high levels of hTERT in all the fibroblasts transduced with retroviral particles (examples shown in A) were confirmed. Nevertheless, almost all the fibroblasts stopped growing after a few population doublings (PDs) and underwent senescence (B) with the exception of CAF154-hTERT cells, which expressed high levels of hTERT (A), showed no signs of senescence (B), and proliferated in a continuous fashion in vitro (C). Cumulative PDs were calculated at the end of every passage in relation to the cell number at the first passage. Of note, despite the immortalization process, CAF154-hTERT maintained the capacity to promote the growth of the adjacent cancer cells in co-culture experiments (D). (TIFF 422Â kb