Abstract:

Objective        To investigate the mechanism of lysophosphatidic acid(LPA) inducing proliferation of ovarian carcinoma cells. Methods      The human ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3 was cultured in vitro, and PD98059 which could inhibit the mitogenactivated protein kinase(MAPK) signaling pathway was used. Proliferative activity of SKOV3 cells stimulated by LPA with or without PD98059 was assessed by Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT). Expression of COX2 in SKOV3 cells was assessed by RTPCR. Apoptosis and cell cycle of SKOV3 cells were detected by flow cytometry (FCM). Results     LPA (when density ＞10μmol/L) could promote proliferation of SKOV3 cells in a dose-dependent manner, while PD98059 could inhibit the effect（P＜0.05）. RT-PCR showed that LPA could increase expression of COX-2 in SKOV3 cells（P＜0.05）， while PD98059 could decrease the effect（P＜0.05）. FCM showed that LPA could promote proliferation, inhibit apoptosis, and increase the proportion of cells in the S phase．However， combined with PD98059 in culture， cell proliferation and proportion of cells in the S phase were significantly decreased， while the proportion of cells in the G0/G1 phase was increased． Conclusion       LPA may promote proliferation of ovarian carcinoma cells via the MAPK signaling pathway, and the mechanism is related to expression of COX-2.

Key words: Lysophosphatidic acid; Ovarian neoplasms; Mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway; Proliferation