Selective overexpression of Human epididymal secretory protein E4 (HE4) points to a role in ovarian cancer tumorigenesis but little is known about the role the HE4 gene or the gene product plays. Here we show that elevated HE4 serum levels correlate with chemoresistance and decreased survival rates in EOC patients. HE4 overexpression promoted xenograft tumor growth and chemoresistance against cisplatin in an animal model resulting in reduced survival rates. HE4 displayed responses to tumor microenvironment constituents and presented increased expression as well as nuclear translocation upon EGF, VEGF and Insulin treatment and nucleolar localization with Insulin treatment. HE4 interacts with EGFR, IGF1R, and transcription factor HIF1α. Constructs of antisense phosphorothio-oligonucleotides targeting HE4 arrested tumor growth in nude mice. Collectively these findings implicate increased HE4 expression as a molecular factor in ovarian cancer tumorigenesis. Selective targeting directed towards the HE4 protein demonstrates therapeutic benefits for the treatment of ovarian cancer.

Irisin, a newly identified hormone, is critical to modulating body metabolism, thermogenesis and reducing oxidative stresses. However, whether irisin protects the heart against myocardial ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury remains unknown. In this study, we determine the effect of irisin on myocardial I/R injury in the Langendorff perfused heart and cultured myocytes. Adult C57/BL6 mice were treated with irisin (100mg/kg) or vehicle for 30 minutes to elicit preconditioning. The isolated hearts were subjected to 30 min ischemia followed by 30 min reperfusion. Left ventricular function was measured and infarction size were determined using by tetrazolium staining. Western blot was employed to determine myocardial SOD-1, active-caspase 3, annexin V, p38 and phospho-p38. H9c2 cardiomyoblasts were exposed to hypoxia and reoxygenation for assessment of the effects of irisin on mitochondrial respiration and mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP). Irisin treatment produced remarkable improvements in ventricular functional recovery, as evident by the increase in RPP and attenuation in LVEDP. As compared to the vehicle treatment, irisin resulted in a marked reduction of myocardial infarct size. Notably, irisin treatment increased SOD-1 and p38 phosphorylation, but suppressed levels of active-caspase 3, cleaved PARP, and annexin V. In cardiomyoblasts exposed to hypoxia/reoxygenation, irisin treatment significantly attenuated hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R), as indicated by the reduction of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage and apoptotic cardiomyocytes. Furthermore, irisin treatments suppressed the opening of mPTP, mitochondrial swelling, and protected mitochondria function. Our results indicate that irisin serves as a novel approach to eliciting cardioprotection, which is associated with the improvement of mitochondrial function.