Targeting INHBA in Ovarian Cancer Cells Suppresses Cancer Xenograft Growth by Attenuating Stromal Fibroblast Activation

Figure 5

INHBA from SKOV3 CM promotes activation of stromal fibroblasts. (a, b) The GO term gene set enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway analysis using genes related with INHBA (). (c) Spearman’s correlation analysis showing the relation between the calculated stromal component score and expression level of INHBA in the GSE 9891, GSE 26193, GSE 51088, and TCGA dataset. (d) The results of western blot analysis showed that activin A enhanced the expression of fibroblast activation markers, such as FAP, α-SMA, and FSP1. GAPDH served as loading control. (e) In MRC5 and primary NOFs, an INHBA-neutralizing antibody suppressed the α-SMA elevation and cytoskeletal stretch caused by CM from SKOV3. (f) The INHBA-neutralizing antibody reversed the increased ability of fibroblasts to contract ECM caused by CM from SKOV3. (g, h) The immunofluorescence assay of Ki-67 and wound closure assay showing that INHBA-neutralizing antibody reversed the tumor-promoting ability of fibroblasts treated by CM from SKOV3. Data are expressed as , ; ; .

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