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Signal Transducers and Activators of Transcription 3 Pathway Activation in Drug-Resistant Ovarian Cancer

Authors' Affiliations: ¹ Division of Hematology/Oncology, ² Department of Pathology, ³ Division of Gynecologic Oncology, and ⁴ Biostatistics Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts

Requests for reprints: Zhenfeng Duan, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114. Phone: 617-724-3144; Fax: 617-724-3166; E-mail: zduan{at}partners.org.

Purpose: One of the major obstacles in the treatment of ovarian cancer is the development of multidrug resistance. Recent evidence shows that high-grade ovarian cancer often shows activation of the signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (Stat3) pathway with subsequent transcription of genes that support tumor growth and survival. Less studied is the role of the Stat3 pathway in acquired drug resistance. There is no information on Stat3 expression in chemotherapy naïve ovarian cancer as compared with tumors collected later in the natural history of the disease. To further clarify the significance of Stat3 activation in ovarian cancer, here we investigated the Stat3 expression and activation in ovarian cancer and ovarian cancer multidrug resistance cell lines.

Experimental Design: Western blotting, electrophoretic mobility shift assay, luciferase assays, ELISA assay, and real-time reverse transcription-PCR determined interleukin-6 and Stat3 pathway expression and activation in cell lines. Stat3 expression in ovarian cancer tissue microarray was evaluated by immunohistochemistry.

Results: Activated (phosphorylated) Stat3 is overexpressed in most paclitaxel-resistant ovarian cancer cells. Inhibition of Stat3 activation results in significant decreases in paclitaxel resistance and enhanced apoptosis. Drug-resistant recurrent tumors have significantly greater phosphorylated Stat3 (pStat3) expression as compared with matched primary tumors. Tumors with associated inflammatory cell infiltrates also have a higher proportion of cells staining intensely for nuclear phosphorylated Stat3 as compared with tumors without inflammatory infiltrates, consistent with paracrine activation of the Stat3 pathway by immune-mediated cytokines.

Conclusions: These data support the hypothesis that interruption of Stat3 signaling could reverse resistance to paclitaxel and perhaps other chemotherapy agents in human cancer.

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