Podocalyxin protects high grade serous ovarian cancer spheroids from NK cell infiltration and spheroid destruction.

ABSTRACT:

Background

High grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) is the most common and lethal subtype of ovarian cancer, yet its prognosis has remained unchanged in the past 3 decades. HGSC is known to have evolved immune evasion strategies to promote survival, but these mechanisms are not well understood. Podocalyxin (PODXL), a CD34-related sialomucin, is often expressed in HGSC patients with poor prognosis. We have recently reported that PODXL promotes the formation of compact and chemoresistant HGSC spheroids to boost their survival.

Methods

In this current study, we investigated whether PODXL may also influence HGSC spheroid susceptibility to NK cell infiltration and cytotoxicity. We co-cultured HGSC spheroids with primary human NK cells isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (P

SUBMITTER: Tran NL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12573985 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature