Autotaxin Regulates Maintenance of Ovarian Cancer Stem Cells through Lysophosphatidic Acid-Mediated Autocrine Mechanism. (2nd February 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Seo, Eun Jin; Kwon, Yang Woo; Jang, Il Ho; Kim, Dae Kyoung; Lee, Soo In; Choi, Eun Jung; Kim, Ki-Hyung; Suh, Dong-Soo; Lee, Jeong Hee; Choi, Kyung Un; Lee, Jae Won; Mok, Hyuck Jun; Kim, Kwang Pyo; Matsumoto, Hirotaka; Aoki, Junken; Kim, Jae Ho
• Is Part Of: Stem cells. Volume 34:Number 3(2016:Mar.)
• Page Start: 551
• Page End: 564
• Publication Date: 2016-02-02
• Subjects: Autotaxin -- Lysophosphatidic acid -- Cancer stem cells -- Epithelial ovarian cancer -- Aldehyde dehydrogenase; Cloning -- Periodicals; Clone cells -- Periodicals; Stem cells -- Periodicals; Cell Differentiation -- Periodicals; Cell Division -- Periodicals; Clone Cells -- Periodicals; Hematopoietic Stem Cells -- Periodicals; Stem Cells -- Periodicals; 571.84
• DOI: 10.1002/stem.2279
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1066-5099

Abstract

Abstract: Ovarian cancer shows high mortality due to development of resistance to chemotherapy and relapse. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been suggested to be a major contributor in developing drug resistance and relapse in ovarian cancer. In this study, we isolated CSCs through sphere culture of A2780, SKOV3, OVCAR3 epithelial ovarian cancer cells and primary ovarian cancer cells from patients. We identified heat-stable factors secreted from ovarian CSCs stimulated migration and proliferation of CSCs. Mass spectrometry and ELISA analysis revealed that lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) was significantly elevated in CSC culture media compared with non-CSC culture media. Treatment of CSCs with LPA resulted in augmented CSC characteristics such as sphere-forming ability, resistance to anticancer drugs, tumorigenic potential in xenograft transplantation, and high expression of CSC-associated genes, including OCT4, SOX2, and aldehyde dehydrogenase 1. Treatment of CSCs with LPA receptor 1-specific inhibitors or silencing of LPA receptor 1 expression abrogated the LPA-stimulated CSC properties. Autotaxin, an LPA-producing enzyme, is highly secreted from ovarian CSCs, and pharmacological inhibition or knockdown of autotaxin markedly attenuated the LPA-producing, tumorigenic, and drug resistance potentials of CSCs. Clinicopathological analysis showed a significant survival disadvantage of patients with positive staining of autotaxin. In addition, we further identified that AKT1 activity was upregulated in ovarian CSCs through an LPA-dependent mechanism and silencing of AKT1 expression led to suppression of CSC characteristics. These results suggest that autotaxin-LPA-LPA receptor 1-AKT1 signaling axis is critical for maintaining CSC characteristics through an autocrine loop and provide a novel therapeutic target for ovarian CSCs.