The Mary and John Knight Translational Ovarian Cancer Research Unit, London Regional Cancer Program, London, ON, Canada.
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
Sci Rep. 2023 Jul 14;13(1):11424. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-38609-5.
Ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) is a highly lethal malignancy for which early detection is a challenge and treatment of late-stage disease is ineffective. HGSC initiation involves exfoliation of fallopian tube epithelial (FTE) cells which form multicellular clusters called spheroids that colonize and invade the ovary. HGSC contains universal mutation of the tumour suppressor gene TP53. However, not all TP53 mutations are the same, as specific p53 missense mutants contain gain-of-function (GOF) properties that drive tumour formation. Additionally, the role of GOF p53 in spheroid-mediated spread is poorly understood. In this study, we developed and characterized an in vitro model of HGSC based on mutation of TP53 in mouse oviductal epithelial cells (OVE). We discovered increased bulk spheroid survival and increased anchorage-independent growth in OVE cells expressing the missense mutant p53 compared to OVE parental and Trp53ko cells. Transcriptomic analysis on spheroids identified decreased apoptosis signaling due to p53. Further assessment of the apoptosis pathway demonstrated decreased expression of intrinsic and extrinsic apoptosis signaling molecules due to Trp53 deletion and p53, but Caspase-3 activation was only decreased in spheroids with p53. These results highlight this model as a useful tool for discovering early HGSC transformation mechanisms and uncover a potential anti-apoptosis GOF mechanism of p53.
卵巢高级别浆液性癌 (HGSC) 是一种高度致命的恶性肿瘤,早期检测具有挑战性,晚期疾病的治疗效果不佳。HGSC 的发生涉及输卵管上皮 (FTE) 细胞的脱落,这些细胞形成称为球体的多细胞簇,定植并侵袭卵巢。HGSC 包含肿瘤抑制基因 TP53 的普遍突变。然而,并非所有 TP53 突变都是相同的,因为特定的 p53 错义突变具有驱动肿瘤形成的获得性功能 (GOF) 特性。此外,GOF p53 在球体介导的扩散中的作用知之甚少。在这项研究中,我们开发并表征了一种基于突变 TP53 的 HGSC 体外模型,该模型基于小鼠输卵管上皮细胞 (OVE) 中的 TP53 突变。我们发现,与 OVE 亲本和 Trp53ko 细胞相比,表达错义突变 p53 的 OVE 细胞的 bulk 球体存活率增加,并且锚定非依赖性生长增加。对球体的转录组分析表明,由于 p53,凋亡信号减少。进一步评估凋亡途径表明,由于 Trp53 缺失和 p53,内在和外在凋亡信号分子的表达减少,但只有在含有 p53 的球体中 Caspase-3 激活才减少。这些结果突出了该模型作为发现早期 HGSC 转化机制的有用工具,并揭示了 p53 的潜在抗凋亡 GOF 机制。