1
Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
2
Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Wenzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wenzhou 325000, China
3
Organ Transplant Institute, Fuzhou General Hospital, Fuzhou 350025, China
4
AIDS-STDs Prevention and Control Department, Wenzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wenzhou 325000, China
5
State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou 510060, China
6
Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
7
Department of Radiation Biology, School of Radiation Medication and Protection, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
8
Department of Labor Hygiene and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Abstract
Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological malignancy due to its high metastatic ability. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is essential during both follicular rupture and epithelium regeneration. However, it may also accelerate the progression of ovarian carcinomas. Experimental studies have found that 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin-D3 [1α,25(OH)
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Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological malignancy due to its high metastatic ability. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is essential during both follicular rupture and epithelium regeneration. However, it may also accelerate the progression of ovarian carcinomas. Experimental studies have found that 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin-D3 [1α,25(OH)
2D
3] can inhibit the proliferation of ovarian cancer cells. In this study, we investigated whether 1α,25(OH)
2D
3 could inhibit the migration of ovarian cancer cells via regulating EMT. We established a model of transient transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1)-induced EMT in human ovarian adenocarcinoma cell line SKOV-3 cells. Results showed that, compared with control, 1α,25(OH)
2D
3 not only inhibited the migration and the invasion of SKOV-3 cells, but also promoted the acquisition of an epithelial phenotype of SKOV-3 cells treated with TGF-β1. We discovered that 1α,25(OH)
2D
3 increased the expression of epithelial marker E-cadherin and decreased the level of mesenchymal marker, Vimentin, which was associated with the elevated expression of VDR. Moreover, 1α,25(OH)
2D
3 reduced the expression level of transcription factors of EMT, such as slug, snail, and β-catenin. These results indicate that 1α,25(OH)
2D
3 suppresses the migration and invasion of ovarian cancer cells by inhibiting EMT, implying that 1α,25(OH)
2D
3 might be a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of ovarian cancer.
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