Ovarian cancer spheroids use myosin-generated force to clear the mesothelium

Dissemination of ovarian tumors involves the implantation of cancer spheroids into the mesothelial monolayer on the walls of peritoneal and pleural cavity organs. Biopsies of tumors attached to peritoneal organs show that mesothelial cells are not present under tumor masses. We have developed a live, image-based in vitro model in which interactions between tumor spheroids and mesothelial cells can be monitored in real time to provide spatial and temporal understanding of mesothelial clearance. Here we provide evidence that ovarian cancer spheroids utilize integrin – and talin - dependent activation of myosin and traction force to promote mesothelial cells displacement from underneath a tumor cell spheroid. These results suggest that ovarian tumor cell clusters gain access to the sub-mesothelial environment by exerting force on the mesothelial cells lining target organs, driving migration and clearance of the mesothelial cells

Ovarian Cancer Spheroids Use Myosin-Generated Force to Clear the Mesothelium

Dissemination of ovarian tumors involves the implantation of cancer spheroids into the mesothelial monolayer on the walls of peritoneal and pleural cavity organs. Biopsies of tumors attached to peritoneal organs show that mesothelial cells are not present under tumor masses. We have developed a live, image-based in vitro model in which interactions between tumor spheroids and mesothelial cells can be monitored in real time to provide spatial and temporal understanding of mesothelial clearance. Here we provide evidence that ovarian cancer spheroids utilize integrin – and talin - dependent activation of myosin and traction force to promote mesothelial cells displacement from underneath a tumor cell spheroid. These results suggest that ovarian tumor cell clusters gain access to the sub-mesothelial environment by exerting force on the mesothelial cells lining target organs, driving migration and clearance of the mesothelial cells

Mesenchymal gene program-expressing ovarian cancer spheroids exhibit enhanced mesothelial clearance.

Metastatic dissemination of ovarian tumors involves the invasion of tumor cell clusters into the mesothelial cell lining of peritoneal cavity organs; however, the tumor-specific factors that allow ovarian cancer cells to spread are unclear. We used an in vitro assay that models the initial step of ovarian cancer metastasis, clearance of the mesothelial cell layer, to examine the clearance ability of a large panel of both established and primary ovarian tumor cells. Comparison of the gene and protein expression profiles of clearance-competent and clearance-incompetent cells revealed that mesenchymal genes are enriched in tumor populations that display strong clearance activity, while epithelial genes are enriched in those with weak or undetectable activity. Overexpression of transcription factors SNAI1, TWIST1, and ZEB1, which regulate the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), promoted mesothelial clearance in cell lines with weak activity, while knockdown of the EMT-regulatory transcription factors TWIST1 and ZEB1 attenuated mesothelial clearance in ovarian cancer cell lines with strong activity. These findings provide important insights into the mechanisms associated with metastatic progression of ovarian cancer and suggest that inhibiting pathways that drive mesenchymal programs may suppress tumor cell invasion of peritoneal tissues

Elafin drives poor outcome in high grade serous ovarian cancers and basal-like breast tumors

High grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC) and basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) share many features including TP53 mutations, genomic instability and poor prognosis. We recently reported that Elafin is overexpressed by HGSOC and is associated with poor overall survival. Here, we confirmed that Elafin overexpression is associated with shorter survival in 1000 HGSOC patients. Elafin confers a proliferative advantage to tumor cells through activation of the MAP kinase pathway. This mitogenic effect can be neutralized by RNA interference, specific antibodies, and a MEK inhibitor. Elafin expression in patient-derived samples was also associated with chemoresistance and strongly correlates with bcl-xL expression. We extended these findings into examination of 1100 primary breast tumors and six breast cancer cell lines. We observed that Elafin is overexpressed and secreted specifically by BLBC tumors and cell lines, leading to a similar mitogenic effect through activation of the MAP kinase pathway. Here too, Elafin overexpression is associated with poor overall survival, suggesting that it may serve as a biomarker and therapeutic target in this setting