RESUMO
Mesothelin (MSLN), a glycoprotein normally expressed by mesothelial cells, is overexpressed in ovarian cancer (OvCa) suggesting a role in tumor progression, although the biological function is not fully understood. OvCa has a high mortality rate due to diagnosis at advanced stage disease with intraperitoneal metastasis. Tumor cells detach from the primary tumor as single cells or multicellular aggregates (MCAs) and attach to the mesothelium of organs within the peritoneal cavity producing widely disseminated secondary lesions. To investigate the role of host MSLN in the peritoneal cavity we used a mouse model with a null mutation in the MSLN gene (MSLNKO). The deletion of host MSLN expression modified the peritoneal ultrastructure resulting in abnormal mesothelial cell surface architecture and altered omental collagen fibril organization. Co-culture of murine OvCa cells with primary mesothelial cells regardless of MSLN expression formed compact MCAs. However, co-culture with MSLNKO mesothelial cells resulted in smaller MCAs. An allograft tumor study, using wild-type mice (MSLNWT) or MSLNKO mice injected intraperitoneally with murine OvCa cells demonstrated a significant decrease in peritoneal metastatic tumor burden in MSLNKO mice compared to MSLNWT mice. Together, these data support a role for host MSLN in the progression of OvCa metastasis.
Assuntos
Células Epiteliais/metabolismo , Mesotelina/genética , Neoplasias Ovarianas/genética , Neoplasias Peritoneais/genética , Células Estromais/metabolismo , Microambiente Tumoral/genética , Animais , Adesão Celular , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Movimento Celular , Proliferação de Células , Técnicas de Cocultura , Células Epiteliais/patologia , Feminino , Expressão Gênica , Xenoenxertos , Humanos , Mesotelina/deficiência , Mesotelina/metabolismo , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Camundongos Knockout , Neoplasias Ovarianas/metabolismo , Neoplasias Ovarianas/patologia , Neoplasias Peritoneais/metabolismo , Neoplasias Peritoneais/secundário , Células Estromais/patologiaRESUMO
Ovarian cancer, the most deadly gynecological malignancy in U.S. women, metastasizes uniquely, spreading through the peritoneal cavity and often generating widespread metastatic sites before diagnosis. The vast majority of ovarian cancer cases occur in women over 40 and the median age at diagnosis is 63. Additionally, elderly women receive poorer prognoses when diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Despite age being a significant risk factor for the development of this cancer, there are little published data which address the impact of aging on ovarian cancer metastasis. Here we report that the aged host is more susceptible to metastatic success using two murine syngeneic allograft models of ovarian cancer metastasis. This age-related increase in metastatic tumor burden corresponds with an increase in tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in tumor-bearing mice and alteration of B cell-related pathways in gonadal adipose tissue. Based on this work, further studies elucidating the status of B cell TILs in mouse models of metastasis and human tumors in the context of aging are warranted.
