Epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC) is a leading cause of death from gynecologic malignancies, due mainly to the prevalence of undetected metastatic disease. The process of cell invasion during intraperitoneal anchoring of metastatic lesions requires concerted regulation of many processes, including modulation of adhesion to the extracellular matrix and localized invasion. Exploratory cDNA microarray analysis of early response genes (altered after 4 hr of 3D collagen culture) coupled with confirmatory real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, multiple 3D cell culture matrices, Western blot, immunostaining, adhesion, migration and invasion assays were used to identify modulators of adhesion pertinent to EOC progression and metastasis. cDNA microarray analysis indicated a dramatic downregulation of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in EOC cells placed in invasionmimicking conditions (3D Type I collagen). Examination of human EOC specimens revealed that CTGF expression was absent in 46% of the tested samples (n 5 41), but was present in 100% of normal ovarian epithelium samples (n 5 7). Reduced CTGF expression occurs in many types of cells and may be a general phenomenon displayed by cells encountering a 3D environment. CTGF levels were inversely correlated with invasion such that downregulation of CTGF increased, while its upregulation reduced collagen invasion. Cells adhered preferentially to a surface comprised of both collagen I and CTGF relative to either component alone using a6b1 and a3b1 integrins. Together these data suggest that downregulation of CTGF in EOC cells may be important for cell invasion through modulation of cell-matrix adhesion. '
UICCKey words: ovarian carcinoma; metastasis; invasion; adhesion; connective tissue growth factor Epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC) has the poorest survival of all gynecologic malignancies, 1 due predominantly to the presence of disseminated intraperitoneal metastasis.2 Successful metastatic spread requires concerted regulation of crucial cellular processes, including apoptosis, proliferation, cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion, migration and breakdown of the extracellular matrix.3 A detailed understanding of these mechanisms is a prerequisite for the design of therapeutics essential for retardation or prevention of metastatic spread. The tumor microenvironment plays a major role in orchestrating the cell behavior. 4 The microenvironment in sites of EOC metastatic dissemination is predominantly comprised of interstitial collagens I and III, 5 which can be modeled experimentally to distinguish effects of the microenvironment on cell behavior. 6,7 Experimentally created 3D cultures recapitulate the in vivo cellular environment more closely than traditional cell culture on planar substrata. It has been demonstrated that these 3D culture models and organotypic cultures can accurately and reliably replicate certain conditions in the living organs and, therefore, can be used as a preliminary model to more closely understand the consequences of inte...