Expression Of BMP7 In Ovarian Cancer And Biological Effect Of BMP7 Knockdown On Ovarian Cancer Cells

Hongwei Guan,1,* Juan Li,1,* Rui Sun,1 Wei Liu,1 Mei Feng,2 Hui Ma,3 Changzhong Li1 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shandong Provincial Hospital affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, People’s Republic of China; 2Central Laboratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, People’s Republic of China; 3Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Changzhong LiDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shandong Provincial Hospital affiliated to Shandong University, 324 Jingwuweisi Road, Jinan 250021, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 531 15168888909Email 15168888909@163.comPurpose: The aim of our research was to investigate the expression of BMP7 in ovarian cancer (OC) and the biological effect of knocking down BMP7 on ovarian cancer A2780 cells.Methods: We detected BMP7 expression in ovarian cancer and normal ovarian tissue by immunohistochemistry (IHC). We downregulated BMP7 expression using lentivirus-mediated RNAi and then examined the effects of knocking down BMP7 on the cell growth and invasion, cell cycle and paclitaxel sensitivity of A2780 cells. The mRNA and protein levels were detected by total RNA extraction and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting, respectively. Cell proliferation was measured by CCK-8 and colony formation assays. The number of cells in each cell cycle stage and those undergoing apoptosis were measured by flow cytometry.Results: BMP7 expression was significantly higher in the ovarian cancer tissues than it was in the normal ovarian tissues. Knocking down BMP7 in ovarian cancer A2780 cells inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion; led to G1 cell cycle arrest; and reversed the epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) process. In addition, downregulating BMP7 increased the sensitivity of the A2780 cells to paclitaxel. Moreover, BMP7 downregulation resulted in decreased expression of Smad1/5/9, p-Smad1/5/9, ID2 and cyclin D1 protein.Conclusion: The results presented here are expected to contribute to the development of possible therapeutic targets for patients with ovarian cancer.Keywords: BMP7, ovarian cancer, EMT, drug sensitivity, proliferation, cell cycle