Mechanism of resistin-induced enhancementof proliferation and migration of ovarian cancer cells

IntroductionResistin, a novel hormone secreted by human adipocytes and mononuclear cells, is associated with obesity, insulin resistance, and inflammation. Recent studies showed that resistin plays a key role in ovarian cancer cells. In this study, we investigated the potential of resistin to regulate the proliferation and migration of ovarian cancer cells.Material and methodsA series of in vitro functional experiments were carried out to elucidate the role of resistin in ovarian cancer progression and the molecular mechanisms underlying its role.ResultsResistin enhanced the proliferation of human ovarian epithelial carcinoma cells (HO-8910) in a time- and dose-dependent manner (30–100 ng/ml). Furthermore, HO-8910 cells cultured in adipocyte-conditioned medium showed dramatically increased rates of proliferation. Resistin knockout during adipocyte culture attenuated the proliferation of HO-8910 cells treated with adipocyte-conditioned media, indicating that resistin may promote HO-8910 cell proliferation via the mechanistic target of a rapamycin (mTOR)-mediated signaling pathway. Resistin (30–100 ng/ml) also enhanced wound-healing rates in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Co-culturing HO-8910 cells with adipocytes also increased the wound-healing rates. Resistin expression was inhibited by miR-124-1 transcriptional activity, and resistin-mediated HO-8910 cell migration was also regulated by miR-124-1. Furthermore, we also confirmed the role of resistin in promoting tumor growth in vivo.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that resistin may serve as an effective therapeutic target for ovarian epithelial carcinoma, especially in patients who are obese.