Abstract:

Objective To explore the effect of KLF4 on the proliferation，migration and invasion of ovari⁃ an cancer SKOV3 cells by regulating the TGF ⁃ β pathway to attenuate EMT. Methods Lentiviral vectors of the overexpressed KLF4 and blank control groups were produced and transfected into ovarian cancer SKOV3 cells， which were screened with puromycin to generate the ovarian cancer cell lines of the two groups，respectively. West⁃ ern blotting was used to determine the expression of EMT⁃related proteins in the ovarian cancer cells of each group， MTT assay to detect their proliferation ability and Transwell assay to detect the effect of KLF4 overexpression on their migration and invasion ability. The orthotopic mouse xenograft model was established to verify the effect of KLF4 overexpression on the tumor growth and metastasis. Results According to MTT and Transwell，the overex⁃ pressed KLF4 in the KLF4 overexpression group significantly inhibited not only the proliferation，migration and invasion of ovarian cancer cells，but also the EMT process of ovarian cancer cells by inhibiting TGF⁃ β pathway mediated by Smad（P < 0.05），as compared with the control group. KLF4 inhibited the growth and metastasis of primary tumor in orthotopic mouse ovarian cancer xenograft. Conclusion KLF4 can inhibit EMT by inhibiting Smad mediated TGF⁃β pathway，and in this way it inhibits the proliferation of ovarian cancer，migration and inva⁃ sion. KLF4 /Smad/TGF⁃β/EMT axis is expected to be a new target for the treatment of ovarian cancer.

Key words:

ovarian cancer, KLF4, Smad, TGF?β, epithelial?mesenchymal transition