Figure 1 A flow chart presenting the general study design, including phase 1 and 2. Initially, adenocarcinoma (ADC) cells were cultured and supernatant was collected. After that, mesothelial cell cultures where incubated with or without supernatant from ADC and treated or not treated with a sclerosant. After 24 h, the levels of cytokines in cell culture supernatants and mRNA in cell lysates were measured (end of phase 1). Then, supernatants from mesothelial cell cultures were used to stimulate fibroblast culture (phase 2). The fibroblast culture was assessed for collagen secretion. The whole experiment was repeated for each of the following sclerosants: talc (20 μg/mL), PVP-I (0.001%), doxycycline (2 μg/mL), and TGF-β (0.2 μg/mL). Created with BioRender.com.