Abstract
Purpose: Hyaluronan modulates tumor progression, including cell adhesion, cohesion, proliferation and invasion, and the cancer stem cell phenotype. In ovarian cancer, high levels of stromal hyaluronan are associated with poor prognosis. In this work hyaluronan synthases (HAS1-3) and hyaluronidases (HYAL1-5, HYALP1) were examined with regard to different levels of gene expression and its influence on ovarian cancer patients survival. The impact of a siRNA depletion of hyaluronic acid synthase HAS2 was investigated in vitro.Methods: Using the Kaplan Meier Plotter tool, we investigated the influence of hyaluronic synthesis enzymes on the survival of a collective of 1435 ovarian cancer patients. We studied SKOV3 ovarian cancer cells subjected to HAS2 siRNA or control siRNA treatment in terms of HAS1-3, HYAL2 and HYAL3 mRNA expression. We investigated the ability to form spheroids using the Hanging Drop method and the response to chemotherapy at different concentrations using the MTT Assay. By String analysis, interactions within the enzymes of the hyaluronic acid system and with binding partners were visualized. Results: HAS2 improves cell viability, the capability to form tumor spheroids and has a negative prognostic value regarding overall survival. Lower HAS2 expression and high expression of HYAL2 and HYAL3 favours the survival of ovarian cancer patients. HAS2 knockdown cells and control cells showed a moderate response to in vitro chemotherapy with Taxol, Cisplatin and combinatorial treatment. Conclusion: In conclusion our study shows that the hyaluronic acid system has a relevant influence on the survival of ovarian cancer patients and could therefore be considered as a possible prognostic factor.
The Hyaluronic Acid System is Intact in Menstrual Endometrial Cells in Women With and Without Endometriosis
