Targeting YAP suppresses ovarian cancer progression through regulation of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway.

ABSTRACT

Ovarian cancer (OC) is highly metastatic due to frequent peritoneal dissemination, and its treatment poses a major challenge in clinical practice. Yes­associated protein (YAP) is known to be associated with the development of multiple tumors. However, whether targeting YAP can restrain OC progression and the underlying mechanisms have yet to be fully elucidated. In the present study, YAP was found to be highly expressed in OC, and its expression was correlated with the prognosis of OC patients. Moreover, silencing of YAP markedly inhibited the malignant behavior of OC cells, possibly through regulation of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway. Notably, peptide 17, a YAP inhibitor, exerted a significant attenuating effect on OC progression by diminishing the activation of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway in vitro as well as in vivo. Taken together, these findings demonstrated that targeting YAP attenuated OC progression and suggested the potential application of peptide 17 in OC therapy, thus providing new insights into improving the treatment of OC.