Enhancing wound healing and overcoming cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer

Abstract

Ovarian cancer (OC) poses significant oncological challenges, notably impaired wound healing in the context of cisplatin (DDP) resistance. This study investigates the role of miR-200b in OC, emphasizing its impact on wound healing processes through DNMT3A/TGF-β1 pathway. The primary aim was to explore how miR-200b regulates autophagy and its consequential effects on wound healing in OC, alongside its influence on cisplatin resistance. Utilizing DDP-sensitive (A2780) and resistant (A2780/DDP) OC cell lines, along with human fibroblast cultures, the study employed an array of in vitro techniques. These included cell transfection with miR-200b mimic or inhibitor, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), dual-luciferase reporter (DLR) assays, quantitative PCR, Western blotting, MTT and particularly, wound healing assays. The research highlighted the role of miR-200b in wound healing within OC. Inhibition of miR-200b in A2780 cells and its mimic in A2780/DDP cells affected cell viability, indicating the link with DDP resistance. Crucially, miR-200b mimic significantly delayed fibroblast-mediated wound closure in assays, underscoring its impact on wound healing. Bioinformatics analysis and subsequent DLR assays confirmed miR-200b's interaction with DNMT3A, affecting TGF-β1 expression, the key factor in wound repair. Further, ChIP, quantitative PCR and Western blot analyses validated the interaction and expression changes in DNMT3A and TGF-β1. The study demonstrated that miR-200b played a pivotal role in OC by modulating autophagy, which in turn significantly affected wound healing through the DNMT3A/TGF-β1 pathway.

Keywords: autophagy; cisplatin resistance; ovarian cancer; tissue repair; wound healing.