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Current Research for Ovarian Cancer Biology and Therapeutics

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A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Oncology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (26 February 2024) | Viewed by 5319

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Carmela Ricciardelli

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Guest Editor

Discipline Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Group Leader Reproductive Cancer Research, Robinson Research Institute, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
Interests: ovarian cancer; tumour microenvironment; extracellular matrix; metastasis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ovarian cancer is one of the most common gynecological malignancies leading to one of the highest causes of cancer-related deaths in women worldwide. Approximately over 250,000 women are diagnosed globally and over 150,000 patients pass due to this disease annually. It has been found approximately 90% of ovarian cancer cases are epithelial ovarian cancer. The current treatment strategies consist of debulking surgery followed by combined platinum and taxane based chemotherapy. Initial response to treatment is high but over 75% of patients relapse and acquire chemotherapy resistance. The development of more effective therapies for chemotherapy disease is urgently required for improving the survival rate of ovarian cancer patients.

Further research is required to identify and establish effective treatments to improve ovarian cancer survival. This Research Topic aims to generate a discussion around the research investigating novel molecular mechanisms, pathways and therapeutic strategies to target ovarian cancer. We encourage and invite researchers with related experiences in ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, cervical cancer, or other rare gynecological cancers to contribute original research articles or review articles.

Dr. Carmela Ricciardelli
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

ovarian cancer
chemotherapy resistance
metastasis
novel therapetic agents
immunotherapy
CAR-T cells
cancer chemotherapy
pre-clinical models

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 12906 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comprehensive Analysis of MICALL2 Reveals Its Potential Roles in EGFR Stabilization and Ovarian Cancer Cell Invasion

by Tianxiang Xia, Fengwen Ye, Weizhen Zhao, Pengxiang Min, Chenxiang Qi, Qianwen Wang, Mingyu Zhao, Yujie Zhang and Jun Du

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(1), 518; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25010518 - 30 Dec 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 753

Abstract

Molecules interacting with CasL (MICALs) are critical mediators of cell motility that act by cytoskeleton rearrangement. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of cancer cell invasion remain elusive. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential role of one member of MICALs, i.e., MICALL2, in the invasion and function of ovarian cancer cells. We showed by bioinformatics analysis that MICALL2 expression was significantly higher in tissues of advanced-stage ovarian cancer and associated with poor overall survival of patients. MICALL2 was strongly correlated with the infiltration of multiple types of immune cells and T-cell exhaustion markers. Moreover, enrichment analyses showed that MICALL2 was involved in the tumor-related matrix degradation pathway. Mechanistically, MMP9 was identified as the target gene of MICALL2 for the regulation of invadopodium formation and SKOV3, HO-8910PM cell invasion. In addition, EGFR–AKT–mTOR signaling was identified as the downstream pathway of MICALL2 in the regulation of MMP9 expression. Furthermore, MICALL2 silencing promoted EGFR degradation; however, this effect was abrogated by treatment with the autophagy inhibitors acadesine and chloroquine diphosphate. Silencing of MICALL2 resulted in a suppressive activity of Rac1 while suppressing Rac1 activation attenuated the pro-EGFR, pro-MMP9, and proinvasive effects induced by the overexpression of MICALL2. Collectively, our results indicated that MICALL2 participated in the process of immune infiltration and invasion by ovarian cancer cells. Moreover, MICALL2 prevented EGFR degradation in a Rac1-dependent manner, consequently leading to EGFR–AKT–mTOR–MMP9 signaling activation and invadopodia-mediated matrix degradation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Research for Ovarian Cancer Biology and Therapeutics)

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12 pages, 3127 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Domatinostat Targets the FOXM1–Survivin Axis to Reduce the Viability of Ovarian Cancer Cells Alone and in Combination with Chemotherapeutic Agents

by Yurika Nakagawa-Saito, Yuta Mitobe, Shuhei Suzuki, Keita Togashi, Asuka Sugai, Chifumi Kitanaka and Masashi Okada

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(13), 10817; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241310817 - 28 Jun 2023

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Abstract

The deregulation of the FOXM1 transcription factor is a key molecular alteration in ovarian cancer, contributing to the development and progression of ovarian cancer via activation of the target genes. As such, FOXM1 is a highly attractive therapeutic target in the treatment of ovarian cancer, but there has been no clinically tested FOXM1 inhibitor to date. We investigated in this study the effects of domatinostat, a class I-selective HDAC inhibitor currently in the clinical stage of development as a cancer therapeutic, on the expression of FOXM1 and viability of ovarian cancer cells. Cell viability, as well as protein and mRNA expression of FOXM1 and its transcriptional target survivin, was examined after domatinostat treatment of TOV21G and SKOV3 ovarian cancer cell lines in the absence or presence of cisplatin and paclitaxel. The effect of FOXM1 knockdown on survivin expression and those of genetic and pharmacological inhibition of survivin alone or in combination with the chemotherapeutic agents on cell viability were also examined. Domatinostat reduced the protein and mRNA expression of FOXM1 and survivin and also the viability of ovarian cancer cells alone and in combination with cisplatin or paclitaxel at clinically relevant concentrations. Knockdown experiments showed survivin expression was dependent on FOXM1 in ovarian cancer cells. Survivin inhibition was sufficient to reduce the viability of ovarian cancer cells alone and in combination with the chemotherapeutic agents. Our findings suggest that domatinostat, which effectively targets the FOXM1–survivin axis required for the viability of ovarian cancer cells, is a promising option for the treatment of ovarian cancer. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Research for Ovarian Cancer Biology and Therapeutics)

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Review

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16 pages, 641 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Roles of Histone Deacetylases in the Regulation of Ovarian Cancer Metastasis

by Long Xu, Xiaoyu Yan, Jian Wang, Yuanxin Zhao, Qingqing Liu, Jiaying Fu, Xinyi Shi and Jing Su

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(20), 15066; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms242015066 - 11 Oct 2023

Viewed by 1002

Abstract

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecologic malignancy, and metastasis is the major cause of death in patients with ovarian cancer, which is regulated by the coordinated interplay of genetic and epigenetic mechanisms. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are enzymes that can catalyze the deacetylation of histone and some non-histone proteins and that are involved in the regulation of a variety of biological processes via the regulation of gene transcription and the functions of non-histone proteins such as transcription factors and enzymes. Aberrant expressions of HDACs are common in ovarian cancer. Many studies have found that HDACs are involved in regulating a variety of events associated with ovarian cancer metastasis, including cell migration, invasion, and the epithelial–mesenchymal transformation. Herein, we provide a brief overview of ovarian cancer metastasis and the dysregulated expression of HDACs in ovarian cancer. In addition, we discuss the roles of HDACs in the regulation of ovarian cancer metastasis. Finally, we discuss the development of compounds that target HDACs and highlight their importance in the future of ovarian cancer therapy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Research for Ovarian Cancer Biology and Therapeutics)

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14 pages, 1913 KiB

Open AccessReview

Estrogens, Estrogen Receptors and Tumor Microenvironment in Ovarian Cancer

by Marta Justyna Kozieł and Agnieszka Wanda Piastowska-Ciesielska

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(19), 14673; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241914673 - 28 Sep 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1898

Abstract

Ovarian cancer is one of the most common cancers in women and the most concerning issues in gynecological oncology in recent years. It is postulated that many factors may contribute to the development of ovarian cancer, including hormonal imbalance. Estrogens are a group of hormones that have an important role both in physiological and pathological processes. In ovarian cancer, they may regulate proliferation, invasiveness and epithelial to mesenchymal transition. Estrogen signaling also takes part in the regulation of the biology of the tumor microenvironment. This review summarizes the information connected with estrogen receptors, estrogens and their association with a tumor microenvironment. Moreover, this review also includes information about the changes in estrogen receptor expression upon exposition to various environmental chemicals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Research for Ovarian Cancer Biology and Therapeutics)

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