Adipocytes, Obesity and Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myeloma, a hematological malignancy characterized by monoclonal plasma cells in the bone marrow, affects nearly 23,000 Americans per year. Obesity contributes to the development and progression of multiple myeloma, yet the relationship between multiple myeloma cells and adipocytes found in the tumor microenvironment has not been fully elucidated. To examine how adipocytes contribute to the growth and progression of the cancer, human multiple myeloma cell lines were cocultured with primary human adipocytes isolated from lipoaspirates. We found that multiple myeloma cells grown with adipocytes showed increased viability, angiogenic potential, and invasion. Moreover adipocytes from individuals with increased body mass index further compounded this. It was also shown that the multiple myeloma cells alter the adipocytes' protein expression to further exasperate this. Thus, we demonstrate an important role for adipocytes in promoting myeloma pathologies.