TET1 reprograms the epithelial ovarian cancer epigenome and reveals casein kinase 2α as a therapeutic target.

Ten-eleven translocation methylcytosine dioxygenase-1, TET1, takes part in active DNA demethylation. However, our understanding of DNA demethylation in cancer biology and its clinical significance remain limited. This study showed that TET1 expression correlated with poor survival in advanced-stage epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC), and with cell migration, anchorage-independent growth, cancer stemness, and tumorigenicity.

Pyruvate kinase M2 is a poor prognostic marker of and a therapeutic target in ovarian cancer.

Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) regulates glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation; however, the role of PKM2 in ovarian cancer remains largely unknown. We investigated whether ovarian cancer metabolism could provide insight into the development of therapeutic strategies. We performed immunohistochemical staining for PKM2 on a tissue microarray for multivariate analysis.

Ovarian cancer stem-like cells show induced translineage-differentiation capacity and are suppressed by alkaline phosphatase inhibitor.

Spheroid formation is one property of stem cells-such as embryo-derived or neural stem cells-that has been used for the enrichment of cancer stem-like cells (CSLCs). However, it is unclear whether CSLC-derived spheroids are heterogeneous or whether they share common embryonic stemness properties. Understanding these features might lead to novel therapeutic approaches.

LIM-homeobox transcription factor 1, alpha (LMX1A) inhibits tumourigenesis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition and stem-like properties of epithelial ovarian cancer.

Objective: We reported recently the hypermethylation of LMX1A, a LIM-homeobox gene, as a prognostic biomarker in ovarian cancer; however, the function of LMX1A in ovarian cancer remains unknown. The present study aimed to evaluate the hypothesized tumour-suppressor functions of LMX1A in ovarian cancer.

Methods: We analysed the function of LMX1A by examining cell lines, animal models and human ovarian cancer tissues.