Ovarian cancer derived PKR1 positive exosomes promote angiogenesis by promoting migration and tube formation in vitro.

Cancer cell derived exosomes play important roles in cancer progression and modulation of the tumour microenvironment. This study aims to investigate the role of prokineticin receptor 1 (PKR1) positive exosomes on angiogenesis. In the present study, PKR1 expression in tumour samples from ovarian cancer patients were examined firstly. Then, two ovarian cancer cell lines, namely A2780 and HO-8910 cells, were used to isolate and obtain the PKR1 positive exosomes from the serum free medium. The function analysis of PKR1 positive exosomes on angiogenesis was conducted by cell proliferation and migration assay, tube formation analysis, and tumour volume assay. The results showed that PKR1 expression was down regulated in tumour samples of ovarian cancer patients compared with adjacent normal tissues. The intracellular expression of PKR1 could be detected in A2780 and HO-8910 cells. And, the isolated exosomes from the serum free medium were confirmed by transmission electron microscopic and NTA analysis, as well as the co-presence of PKR1 with exosome marker CD63. The function analysis of PKR1 positive exosomes on angiogenesis demonstrated the uptake of PKR1 positive exosomes by human umbilical vein endothelial cells through immunofluorescence staining. The angiogenesis assays in vitro indicated that PKR1 positive exosomes promoted migration and tube formation of HUVECs but not proliferation. The endogenous PKR1 was also verified to help to enhance migration and promote tube formation of vascular endothelial cells, which might involved in the phosphorylation of STAT3. Additionally, The tumour volume from exosomes treated A2780 tumour-bearing mice was significantly increased compared with the control group, accompanied with the induced PKR1 expression and phosphorylation of STAT3 level. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY: This study proved the important role of PKR1 positive exosomes released from ovarian cancer cells on promoting angiogenesis. The data indicated that PKR1 derived from ovarian cancer cells could act as an important tumour associated antigen and biomolecular factor for cellular communication in tumour microenvironment.