ABSTRACT
@#[Abstract] Objective: To investigate the effects of forkhead box transcription factor (FOXK2) overexpression on the proliferation, migration, invasion and adhesion of human ovarian cancer SK-OV-3 cells and its related molecular mechanism. Methods: The open reading frame (ORF) of FOXK2 was cloned into lentivirus expression vector, which was then enveloped in HEK293T cells and transfected into human ovarian cancerSK-OV-3cells.TheoverexpressionefficiencywasdetectedbyqPCRandWesternblotting.Theproliferation, migration, invasion and adhesion of SK-OV-3 cells were detected by CCK-8, Scratch-healing, Transwell and Cell adhesion assays respectively, and the expressions of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers were detected by qPCR. Results: The FOXK2 overexpression vector was constructed successfully and packaged into lentivirus, which was then transfected into SK-OV-3 cells. After transfection, the expression of FOXK2 was significantly increased (P<0.01); the proliferation, migration and invasion of SK-OV-3 cells were significantly reduced while the adhesion ability was significantly increased (P<0.05 or P<0.01); and the expression levels of E-cadherin and β-catenin were significantly increased while that of vimentin and fibronection were significantly decreased (all P<0.01). Conclusion: Overexpression of FOXK2 in SK-OV-3 cells leads to a significant decrease in proliferation, migration and invasion but increase in adhesion. The molecular mechanism may be related to the reversion of the EMT process in tumor cells, suggesting that FOXK2 may be a potential target for the diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer.