ABSTRACT
AIM:To investigate the expression of CD44 and transcription factor NANOG in epithelial ovarian cancer(EOC)and its clinical significance.METHODS:The expression of CD44 and NANOG in EOC and benign ovarian tumor tissues were detected by immunohistochemical method.The correlation between the expression of CD 44 and NANOG in EOC was analyzed.The expression of CD44 and NANOG in ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3 after treatment with cisplatin at different concentrations were detected by Western blot.RESULTS:The positive expression rates of CD44 and NANOG in EOC were significantly higher than those in benign ovarian tumor tissues(P<0.01).In EOC,positive correlation was observed between the expression of CD 44 and NANOG(r=0.346,P<0.01).The positive expression rate of CD44 was associated with clinical stage and lymphatic metastasis(P<0.05), and had no relationship with age, histological grade, pathological types and the location of tumors.The positive expression rate of NANOG was associated with clinical stage and histological grade(P<0.05),and had no relationship with age,lymphatic metastasis,pathological types and the location of tumors.Increased expression of CD44 and NANOG were detected in ovarian cancer cell line SKOV 3 after treatment with cisplatin(P<0.05).CONCLUSION:The over-expression of CD44 and NANOG are associated with the occurrence and development of EOC.The expression of cancer stem cells marker CD 44 and the pluripotent gene product pertaining to em-bryonic stem cells NANOG are increased in cisplatin-induced SKOV3 cells.Cancer stem cells and the expression of stem-ness-related gene may well be the underlying pathogenesis that promotes the onset, progression, and chemotherapy resist-ance of EOC.