Epithelial ovarian cancer stem‑like cells are resistant to the cellular lysis of cytokine‑induced killer cells via HIF1A‑mediated downregulation of ICAM‑1

  • Authors:
    • Shixia Bu
    • Boning Li
    • Qian Wang
    • Tingting Gu
    • Qianggang Dong
    • Xiaofei Miao
    • Dongmei Lai
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: May 3, 2019     https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.2019.4794
  • Pages: 179-190
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Abstract

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the most lethal of all gynecologic tumors. Cancer spheroid culture is a widely used model to study cancer stem cells. Previous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of cytokine‑induced killer (CIK) cell‑based therapies against cancer and cancer stem cells. However, it is not clear how EOC spheroid cells respond to CIK‑mediated cellular lysis, and the mechanisms involved have never been reported before. A flow cytometry‑based method was used to evaluate the anti‑cancer effects of CIK cells against adherent A2780 cells and A2780 spheroids. To demonstrate the association between hypoxia inducible factor‑1α (HIF1A) and intercellular adhesion molecule‑1 (ICAM‑1), two HIF1A short hairpin RNA (shRNA) stable transfected cell lines were established. Furthermore, the protein expression levels of hypoxia/HIF1A‑associated signaling pathways were evaluated, including transforming growth factor‑β1 (TGF‑β1)/mothers against decapentaplegic homologs (SMADs) and nuclear factor‑κB (NF‑κB) signaling pathways, comparing A2780 adherent cells and cancer spheroids. Flow cytometry revealed that A2780 spheroid cells were more resistant to CIK‑mediated cellular lysis, which was partially reversed by an anti‑ICAM‑1 antibody. HIF1A was significantly upregulated in A2780 spheroids compared with adherent cells. Using HIF1A shRNA stable transfected cell lines and cobalt chloride, it was revealed that hypoxia/HIF1A contributed to downregulation of ICAM‑1 in A2780 spheroid cells and adherent cells. Furthermore, hypoxia/HIF1A‑associated signaling pathways, TGF‑β1/SMADs and NF‑κB, were activated in A2780 spheroid cells by using western blotting. The findings indicate that EOC stem‑like cells resist the CIK‑mediated cellular lysis via HIF1A‑mediated downregulation of ICAM‑1, which may be instructive for optimizing and enhancing CIK‑based therapies.
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July-2019
Volume 55 Issue 1

Print ISSN: 1019-6439
Online ISSN:1791-2423

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Spandidos Publications style
Bu S, Li B, Wang Q, Gu T, Dong Q, Miao X and Lai D: Epithelial ovarian cancer stem‑like cells are resistant to the cellular lysis of cytokine‑induced killer cells via HIF1A‑mediated downregulation of ICAM‑1. Int J Oncol 55: 179-190, 2019
APA
Bu, S., Li, B., Wang, Q., Gu, T., Dong, Q., Miao, X., & Lai, D. (2019). Epithelial ovarian cancer stem‑like cells are resistant to the cellular lysis of cytokine‑induced killer cells via HIF1A‑mediated downregulation of ICAM‑1. International Journal of Oncology, 55, 179-190. https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.2019.4794
MLA
Bu, S., Li, B., Wang, Q., Gu, T., Dong, Q., Miao, X., Lai, D."Epithelial ovarian cancer stem‑like cells are resistant to the cellular lysis of cytokine‑induced killer cells via HIF1A‑mediated downregulation of ICAM‑1". International Journal of Oncology 55.1 (2019): 179-190.
Chicago
Bu, S., Li, B., Wang, Q., Gu, T., Dong, Q., Miao, X., Lai, D."Epithelial ovarian cancer stem‑like cells are resistant to the cellular lysis of cytokine‑induced killer cells via HIF1A‑mediated downregulation of ICAM‑1". International Journal of Oncology 55, no. 1 (2019): 179-190. https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.2019.4794