CK19 Promotes Ovarian Cancer Development by Impacting on Wnt/β-Catenin Pathway

BACKGROUND: Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the most common type of ovarian cancer and is the most lethal gynecologic malignancy. Cytokeratin 19 (CK19) is a small type I cytokeratin. The aim of this study is to explore the functional role of CK19 and its underlying mechanism in EOC. METHODS: The expression levels of CK19 in EOC tissues were identified by Western blotting and RT-PCR assay. Transwell assay and CCK-8 proliferation assay were used to assess the invasion, migration and proliferation abilities of overexpressed or knockdown CK19 of ovarian cancer cells. We also detected the related genes of Wnt/β-catenin signal pathway, including β-catenin, TCF7, LEF1, c-MYC and cyclin D1 in the transfected ovarian cancer cells by Western blotting and RT-PCR assay. RESULTS: The results demonstrated that CK19 was upregulated in EOC tissue. CK19 was verified to promote the invasion, proliferation and migration of ovarian cancer cells. Additionally, CK19 activates the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway by upregulated β-catenin, TCF7, LEF1, c-MYC and cyclin D1. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, this is the first study to investigate the role of CK19 in EOC. These findings provide a potential new therapeutic target for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer.