Eukaryotic Initiation Factor 3C Can Affect the Proliferation and Invasion of Ovarian Cancer by Regulating the p53 Signalling Pathway

Jingkaiwen Zhang; Hanlin Yang; Fang Wen; Qing Li; Hao Luo; Dan Zi

doi:10.2174/0115748928292248240401051408

Eukaryotic Initiation Factor 3C Can Affect the Proliferation and Invasion of Ovarian Cancer by Regulating the p53 Signalling Pathway

Recent Pat Anticancer Drug Discov. 2024 Apr 15. doi: 10.2174/0115748928292248240401051408. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Jingkaiwen Zhang¹, Hanlin Yang², Fang Wen¹, Qing Li³, Hao Luo³, Dan Zi^{2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, 550004, China.
² Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital, Guiyang, 550002, China.
³ College of Bioengineering, Key Lab of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400030, China.
⁴ Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Affiliated People's Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, 550002, China.

PMID: 38629365
DOI: 10.2174/0115748928292248240401051408

Abstract

Background: Eukaryotic Initiation Factor 3C (EIF3C) represents a pivotal translational initiation factor in eukaryotes and has been shown to facilitate the progression of various neoplasms. However, its mechanistic role in ovarian cancer remains elusive.

Methods: In this research, the expression of EIF3C in ovarian cancer tissues was investigated using immunohistochemistry. In addition, the assessments were made on changes in cellular proliferation, invasion, and apoptotic abilities by reducing the expression of EIF3C in ovarian cancer cells. By utilizing microarray analysis, a comparison was performed between the downregulated EIF3C group and the control group of ovarian cancer cells, revealing the genes that were expressed differently. Furthermore, the signalling pathways associated with cellular proliferation were validated. The functional role of EIF3C in vivo was investigated using a xenograft tumour model.

Results: The immunohistochemical analysis showed that elevated levels of EIF3C are linked to a negative prognosis in patients with ovarian cancer. Suppression of EIF3C greatly hindered the growth and spread of SK-OV-3 and HO-8910 cells while enhancing cellular programmed cell death. Following KEGG and GSEA enrichment analyses of differentially expressed genes, the p53 signalling pathway was found to be associated with EIF3C. Suppression of EIF3C resulted in the upregulation of the p53 signalling pathway, leading to the inhibition of cell proliferation and invasion and the promotion of apoptosis. In vivo experiments demonstrated that EIF3C knockdown suppressed the growth of subcutaneous tumours in nude mice.

Conclusion: There is a correlation between overexpression of EIF3C in tumour tissues of ovarian cancer patients and this is associated with a poorer prognosis. By influencing the p53 signaling pathway, EIF3C facilitates the growth and infiltration of cells in ovarian cancer.

Keywords: Eukaryotic initiation factor 3C; invasion; oncology.; ovarian cancer; p53 signalling pathway; proliferation.