Mesothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition and Exosomes in Peritoneal Metastasis of Ovarian Cancer

Most patients with ovarian cancer (OvCA) present peritoneal disseminated disease at the time of diagnosis. During peritoneal metastasis, cancer cells detach from the primary tumor and disseminate through the intraperitoneal fluid. The peritoneal mesothelial cell (PMC) monolayer that lines the abdominal cavity is the first barrier encountered by OvCA cells. Subsequent progression of tumors through the peritoneum leads to the accumulation into the peritoneal stroma of a sizeable population of carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), which is mainly originated from a mesothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (MMT) process. A common characteristic of OvCA patients is the intraperitoneal accumulation of ascitic fluid, which is composed of cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, miRNAs, and proteins contained in exosomes, as well as tumor and mesothelial suspended cells, among other components that vary in proportion between patients. Exosomes are small extracellular vesicles that have been shown to mediate peritoneal metastasis by educating a pre-metastatic niche, promoting the accumulation of CAFs via MMT, and inducing tumor growth and chemoresistance. This review summarizes and discusses the pivotal role of exosomes and MMT as mediators of OvCA peritoneal colonization and as emerging diagnostic and therapeutic targets.

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LncRNA SPOCD1-AS from ovarian cancer extracellular vesicles remodels mesothelial cells to promote peritoneal metastasis via interacting with G3BP1

Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research ◽

10.1186/s13046-021-01899-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 40 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Conghui Wang ◽

Jiaying Wang ◽

Xiameng Shen ◽

Mingyue Li ◽

Yongfang Yue ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ovarian Cancer ◽

Extracellular Vesicles ◽

Peritoneal Metastasis ◽

Cancer Metastasis ◽

Cancer Therapeutics ◽

Mesothelial Cells ◽

Ovarian Cancer Cells ◽

Adhesion Assay ◽

Mesenchymal Transition

Abstract Background Metastasis is the key cause of death in ovarian cancer patients. To figure out the biological nature of cancer metastasis is essential for developing effective targeted therapy. Here we investigate how long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) SPOCD1-AS from ovarian cancer extracellular vesicles (EVs) remodel mesothelial cells through a mesothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (MMT) manner and facilitate peritoneal metastasis. Methods EVs purified from ovarian cancer cells and ascites of patients were applied to mesothelial cells. The MMT process of mesothelial cells was assessed by morphology observation, western blot analysis, migration assay and adhesion assay. Altered lncRNAs of EV-treated mesothelial cells were screened by RNA sequencing and identified by qRT-PCR. SPOCD1-AS was overexpressed or silenced by overexpression lentivirus or shRNA, respectively. RNA pull-down and RNA immunoprecipitation assays were conducted to reveal the mechanism by which SPOCD1-AS remodeled mesothelial cells. Interfering peptides were synthesized and applied. Ovarian cancer orthotopic implantation mouse model was established in vivo. Results We found that ovarian cancer-secreted EVs could be taken into recipient mesothelial cells, induce the MMT phenotype and enhance cancer cell adhesion to mesothelial cells. Furthermore, SPOCD1-AS embedded in ovarian cancer-secreted EVs was transmitted to mesothelial cells to induce the MMT process and facilitate peritoneal colonization in vitro and in vivo. SPOCD1-AS induced the MMT process of mesothelial cells via interacting with G3BP1 protein. Additionally, G3BP1 interfering peptide based on the F380/F382 residues was able to block SPOCD1-AS/G3BP1 interaction, inhibit the MMT phenotype of mesothelial cells, and diminish peritoneal metastasis in vivo. Conclusions Our findings elucidate the mechanism associated with EVs and their cargos in ovarian cancer peritoneal metastasis and may provide a potential approach for metastatic ovarian cancer therapeutics.

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CD133 Promotes Adhesion to the Ovarian Cancer Metastatic Niche

Cancer Growth and Metastasis ◽

10.1177/1179064418767882 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

pp. 117906441876788 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Lynn Roy ◽

Alexander Bobbs ◽

Rachel Sattler ◽

Jeffrey L Kurkewich ◽

Paige B Dausinas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ovarian Cancer ◽

Cancer Metastasis ◽

Ex Vivo ◽

Surface Protein ◽

Ovarian Cancer Cells ◽

Metastatic Niche ◽

Attractive Therapeutic Target ◽

Peritoneal Mesothelium

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are an attractive therapeutic target due to their predicted role in both metastasis and chemoresistance. One of the most commonly agreed on markers for ovarian CSCs is the cell surface protein CD133. CD133+ ovarian CSCs have increased tumorigenicity, resistance to chemotherapy, and increased metastasis. Therefore, we were interested in defining how CD133 is regulated and whether it has a role in tumor metastasis. Previously we found that overexpression of the transcription factor, ARID3B, increased the expression of PROM1 (CD133 gene) in ovarian cancer cells in vitro and in xenograft tumors. We report that ARID3B directly regulates PROM1 expression. Importantly, in a xenograft mouse model of ovarian cancer, knockdown of PROM1 in cells expressing exogenous ARID3B resulted in increased survival time compared with cells expressing ARID3B and a control short hairpin RNA. This indicated that ARID3B regulation of PROM1 is critical for tumor growth. Moreover, we hypothesized that CD133 may affect metastatic spread. Given that the peritoneal mesothelium is a major site of ovarian cancer metastasis, we explored the role of PROM1 in mesothelial attachment. PROM1 expression increased adhesion to mesothelium in vitro and ex vivo. Collectively, our work demonstrates that ARID3B regulates PROM1 adhesion to the ovarian cancer metastatic niche.

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Comprehensive Analysis of The Significance of Hypoxia-Related Genes in Ovarian Cancer

10.21203/rs.3.rs-457769/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Wancheng Zhao ◽

Lili Yin

Keyword(s):

Ovarian Cancer ◽

Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Principal Component ◽

Vital Role ◽

The Cancer Genome Atlas ◽

Consensus Clustering ◽

Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Cancer Genome Atlas ◽

Pca Algorithm

Abstract Background: Hypoxia-related genes have been reported to play important roles in a variety of cancers. However, their roles in ovarian cancer (OC) have remained unknown. The aim of our research was to explore the significance of hypoxia-related genes in OC patients.Methods: In this study, 15 hypoxia-related genes were screened from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database to group the ovarian cancer patients using the consensus clustering method. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to calculate the hypoxia score for each patient to quantify the hypoxic status. Results: The OC patients from TCGA-OV dataset were divided into two distinct hypoxia statuses (cluster.A and cluster.B) based on the expression level of the 15 hypoxia-related genes. Most hypoxia-related genes were expressed more highly in the cluster.A group than in the cluster.B group. We also found that patients in the cluster.A group exhibited higher expression of immune checkpoint-related genes, epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related genes, and immune activation-related genes, as well as elevated immune infiltrates. PCA algorithm indicated that patients in the cluster.A group had higher hypoxia scores than that in in the cluster.B group.Conclusions: In summary, our research elucidated the vital role of hypoxia-related genes in immune infiltrates of OC. Our investigation of hypoxic status may be able to improve the efficacy of immunotherapy for OC.

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New Actors Driving the Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition in Cancer: The Role of Leptin

Biomolecules ◽

10.3390/biom10121676 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 1676

Author(s):

Monserrat Olea-Flores ◽

Juan C. Juárez-Cruz ◽

Miriam D. Zuñiga-Eulogio ◽

Erika Acosta ◽

Eduardo García-Rodríguez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ovarian Cancer ◽

Tumor Progression ◽

Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Migration And Invasion ◽

Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Epithelial Cancers ◽

Patients With Cancer

Leptin is a hormone secreted mainly by adipocytes; physiologically, it participates in the control of appetite and energy expenditure. However, it has also been linked to tumor progression in different epithelial cancers. In this review, we describe the effect of leptin on epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers in different study models, including in vitro, in vivo, and patient studies and in various types of cancer, including breast, prostate, lung, and ovarian cancer. The different studies report that leptin promotes the expression of mesenchymal markers and a decrease in epithelial markers, in addition to promoting EMT-related processes such as cell migration and invasion and poor prognosis in patients with cancer. Finally, we report that leptin has the greatest biological relevance in EMT and tumor progression in breast, lung, prostate, esophageal, and ovarian cancer. This relationship could be due to the key role played by the enriched tumor microenvironment in adipose tissue. Together, these findings demonstrate that leptin is a key biomolecule that drives EMT and metastasis in cancer.

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Novel role of lncRNA CHRF in cisplatin resistance of ovarian cancer is mediated by miR-10b induced EMT and STAT3 signaling

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-71153-0 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Wen-Xi Tan ◽

Ge Sun ◽

Meng-Yuan Shangguan ◽

Zhi Gui ◽

Yang Bao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ovarian Cancer ◽

Cisplatin Resistance ◽

Gynecological Cancer ◽

Acquired Resistance ◽

Tumor Burden ◽

Human Patient ◽

Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Stat3 Signaling

Abstract Ovarian Cancer (OC) is a highly lethal gynecological cancer which often progresses through acquired resistance against the administered therapy. Cisplatin is a common therapeutic for the treatment of OC patients and therefore it is critical to understand the mechanisms of resistance against this drug. We studied a paired cell line consisting of parental and cisplatin resistant (CR) derivative ES2 OC cells, and found a number of dysregulated lncRNAs, with CHRF being the most significantly upregulated lncRNA in CR ES2 cells. The findings corroborated in human patient samples and CHRF was significantly elevated in OC patients with resistant disease. CHRF was also found to be elevated in patients with liver metastasis. miR-10b was found to be mechanistically involved in CHRF mediated cisplatin resistance. It induced resistance in not only ES2 but also OVCAR and SKOV3 OC cells. Induction of epithelial-to-mesenchymal-transition (EMT) and activation of STAT3 signaling were determined to be the mechanisms underlying the CHRF-miR-10b axis-mediated cisplatin resistance. Down-regulation of CHRF reversed EMT, STAT3 activation and the resulting cisplatin resistance, which could be attenuated by miR-10b. The results were also validated in an in vivo cisplatin resistance model wherein CR cells were associated with increased tumor burden, CHRF downregulation associated with decreased tumor burden and miR-10b again attenuated the CHRF downregulation effects. Our results support a novel role of lncRNA CHRF in cisplatin resistance of OC and establish CHRF-miR-10b signaling as a putative therapeutic target for sensitizing resistant OC cells.

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Complement Component 3 (C3) Is a Mediator of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT)

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v124.21.1421.1421 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 124 (21) ◽

pp. 1421-1421

Author(s):

Min Soon Cho ◽

Qianghua Hu ◽

Rajesha Rupaimoole ◽

Anil Sood ◽

Vahid Afshar-Kharghan

Keyword(s):

Ovarian Cancer ◽

Cancer Cells ◽

Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Malignant Tumors ◽

Mouse Embryos ◽

Ovarian Cancer Cells ◽

Mesenchymal Transition ◽

E Cadherin

Abstract We have shown that complement component 3 (C3) is expressed in malignant ovarian epithelial cells and enhances cell proliferation in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. C3 is secreted by cancer cells into the tumor microenvironment and promotes tumor growth through an autocrine loop. To understand the mechanism of upregulation of C3 expression in malignant epithelial cells, we studied the transcriptional regulation of C3, and found that TWIST1, a major regulator of EMT, binds to the C3 promoter and regulates C3 transcription. Knockdown of the TWIST1 gene reduced C3 mRNA, and TWIST1 overexpression increased C3 mRNA. TWIST1 promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) during normal development and in metastasis of malignant tumors. An important marker of EMT is a reduction in the surface expression of E-cadherin on cells facilitating migration and invasion of these cells. TWIST1 is a transcriptional repressor of E-cadherin; and because TWIST1 increases C3 expression, we investigated whether C3 is also a negative regulator of E-cadherin expression. We overexpressed C3 in ovarian cancer cells by stable transduction of lentivirus carrying C3 cDNA. Overexpression of C3 was associated with 32% reduction in the expression of E-cadherin resulting in enhanced migration ability of cells by 2.3 folds and invasiveness by 1.75 folds, as compared to control cells transduced with control lentivirus. To investigate whether TWIST1-induced reduction in E-cadherin is C3-mediated or not, we studied the effect of TWIST1 overexpression simultaneous with C3 knockdown in ovarian cancer cells. Overexpression of TWIST1 alone resulted in 70% reduction in E-cadherin mRNA and this was completely reversed after simultaneous C3 knockdown in these cells. To investigate the correlation between C3 and TWIST1 in vivo, we studied the co-expression of these two proteins in mouse embryos (physiologic EMT) and in malignant tumors (pathologic EMT). Given the role of EMT in embryogenesis we immunostained mouse embryos at different stages of development, using antibodies against TWIST1 or C3. Transverse section of 9.5-day post-coitum (9.5dpc) mouse embryos showed co-expression of TWIST1 and C3 in otocyst (ot) and hindbrain (hb) of neural crest. In the whole-mounted 11.5dpc mouse embryos, C3 and TWIST1 were co-expressed in limb buds. Given the role of EMT in malignancy, tumors induced in mice after intraperitoneal injection of murine ovarian cancer cells were resected and immunostained for C3 and TWIST1 proteins. TWIST1 and C3 co-localized at tumor edges, where EMT and tumor cells migration occur. Taken together, these data provide evidence that TWIST1 regulates C3 expression, and C3 promotes EMT through E-cadherin. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

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Role of CD70 in pathogenesis of ovarian cancer cell metastasis

American Journal of BioMedicine ◽

10.18081/2333-5106/018-308-322 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 315-322

Author(s):

Jack L. Pincheira ◽

Maria Wiseman

Keyword(s):

Ovarian Cancer ◽

Ovarian Carcinoma ◽

Tumor Cells ◽

Cancer Cell ◽

Ovarian Cancer Cell ◽

Abdominal Cavity ◽

Activated T Cells ◽

Cancer Society ◽

Tissue Samples

American Cancer Society identifying ovarian carcinoma as the gynecologic malignancy with the highest case-to-fatality. Ovarian carcinoma metastasizes either by direct extension from the ovarian/fallopian tumor to neighboring organs (bladder/colon) or when cancer cells detach from the primary tumor. Exfoliated tumor cells are transported throughout the peritoneum by physiological peritoneal fluid and disseminate within the abdominal cavity. Extensive seeding of the peritoneal cavity by tumor cells is often associated with ascites, particularly in advanced, high-grade serous carcinomas. CD70 (encoded by the TNFSF7 gene) is a co-stimulatory factor present on B-cells, activated T-cells, and dendritic cells. CD70 is over expressed in tumor cells of various solid cancers including ovarian carcinoma, recently reported the role of CD70 expression as a predictive marker of resistance to chemotherapy in ovarian cancers. We evaluated the expression of CD70 level in the pathogenesis of metastasis ovarian cancer cell. Seventy five tissue samples from metastatic ovarian carcinoma were evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR for CD70 and statistical analyses were performed using the Mann-Whitney test. Further, humanized anti-CD70 antibodies were investigated in xenograft mice models of ovarian cancer. Increasing expression of CD70 level was associated with increased risks for disease progression (HR = 1.04; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.14) and death (HR = 1.13; 95% CI, 1.09 to 1.2). expression of CD70 was associated with a worse PFS and OS compared with non- expression of CD70 carcinomas. Furthermore, humanized anti-CD70 antibodies have shown significant antitumor activity in preclinical xenograft models of ovarian cancer cell.

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MicroRNA-30 inhibits the growth of human ovarian cancer cells by suppressing RAB32 expression

International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology ◽

10.1177/20587384211058642 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 36 ◽

pp. 205873842110586

Author(s):

Yan Zhang ◽

Min Zhou ◽

Kun Li

Keyword(s):

Ovarian Cancer ◽

Cancer Cells ◽

Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Luciferase Assay ◽

Migration And Invasion ◽

Ovarian Cancer Cells ◽

Transcriptional Level ◽

Human Ovarian Cancer ◽

Mesenchymal Transition

Introduction MicroRNAs (miRs) exhibit the potential to act as therapeutic targets for the management of human cancers including ovarian cancer. The role of microRNA-30 (miR-30) via modulation of RAB32 expression has not been studied in ovarian cancer. Consistently, the present study was designed to characterize the molecular role of miR-30/RAB32 axis in human ovarian cancer. Methods Cell viability was determined by MTT assay. Expression analysis was carried out by qRT-PCR. Dual luciferase assay was used to confirm the interaction between miR-30 and RAB32. Scratch-heal and transwell chamber assays were used to monitor the cell migration and invasion. Western blotting and immunofluorescence assays were used to determine the protein expression. Results The results revealed significant ( p < 0.05) downregulation of miR-30 in human ovarian cancer cell lines. Overexpression of miR-30 in ovarian SK-OV-3 and A2780 cancer cells significantly ( p < 0.05) inhibited their proliferation. Besides, ovarian cancer cells overexpressing miR-30 showed significantly ( p < 0.05) lower migration and invasion. The miR-30 upregulation also altered the expression pattern of marker proteins of epithelial–mesenchymal transition in ovarian cancer cells. In silico analysis predicted RAB32 as the molecular target of miR-30 at post-transcriptional level. The silencing of RAB32 mimicked the tumor-suppressive effects of miR-30 overexpression in ovarian cancer cells. Nonetheless, overexpression of RAB32 could prevent the tumor-suppressive effects of miR-30 on SK-OV-3 and A2780 cancer cells. Conclusion Taken together, the results suggest the tumor-suppressive role of miR-30 and point towards the therapeutic utility of miR-30/RAB32 molecular axis in the management of ovarian cancer

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Gastric cancer derived exosomes induce peritoneal mesothelial cell EMT through TGF-β1/Smads pathway to promote peritoneal metastasis

10.1101/2021.07.23.453534 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jungang Dong ◽

Zhongbo Zhu ◽

Guoning Cui ◽

Zhixuan Zhang ◽

Juan Yue ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gastric Cancer ◽

Peritoneal Metastasis ◽

Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Critical Role ◽

Mesothelial Cell ◽

Mesothelial Cells ◽

Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Peritoneal Mesothelial Cells ◽

Metastatic Microenvironment ◽

Tgf Β1

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays an important role in peritoneal metastasis of Gastric cancer (GC). Tumor exosomes can mediate tumor directed metastasis, and TGF-β1 is an important factor in inducing tumor Epithelial mesenchymal transition. However, it is not clear whether GC derived exosomes can induce peritoneal mesothelial cells through the TGF-β1/ Smads pathway and the effect of injured peritoneal mesothelial cells on the biological characteristics of GC cells. In this study, we demonstrated that GC-derived exosomes can activate the TGF-β1/Smads pathway in peritoneal mesothelial cells and induce the corresponding EMT process, and that the injured peritoneal mesothelial cells can improve the migration and adhesion of GC cells. Taken together, these data further support the critical role of exosomes in the remodeling of the pre-metastatic microenvironment.

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