Omental adipose stromal cell (O-ASC)

Omental adipose stromal cells (O-ASCs) are a specialized population of multipotent mesenchymal stem cells found within the omentum, a sheet of adipose tissue in the abdominal cavity that is a primary site for the metastasis of gynecological cancers. O-ASCs serve as a critical component of the tumor microenvironment, where they facilitate tumor progression through a mechanism known as metabolic coupling. They secrete metabolites like arginine, which is taken up by cancer cells and converted into nitric oxide (NO) via nitric oxide synthase (NOS). This paracrine signaling upregulates glycolysis and reduces oxidative stress in malignant cells, significantly enhancing their survival, proliferation, and resistance to chemotherapy. Beyond metabolic support, O-ASCs promote tumor vascularization by secreting pro-angiogenic factors such as VEGF and growth factors like HGF. Current therapeutic strategies targeting O-ASC function include the use of L-arginase to deplete arginine supplies, NOS inhibitors to disrupt NO homeostasis, and targeted hunter-killer peptides that recognize unique surface markers like non-glycanated decorin to selectively deplete the O-ASC population within the tumor niche.

Other names

Omental adipose-derived stem cellO-ADSCOmental mesenchymal stem cellOmental adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cellOmental ASC

Interruption of nitric oxide (NO)-mediated metabolic coupling between stroma and cancer cells, depletion of extracellular arginine to starve cancer cells of NO precursors, inhibition of paracrine HGF/c-MET signaling, and targeted pharmacological depletion of the stromal cell population using peptides specific to non-glycanated surface markers.