MicroRNA-dependent inhibition of WEE1 controls cancer stem-like characteristics and malignant behavior in ovarian cancer.

ABSTRACT: Cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) have been suggested to be responsible for chemoresistance and tumor recurrence owing to their self-renewal capacity and differentiation potential. Although WEE1 is a strong candidate target for anticancer therapies, its role in ovarian CSCs is yet to be elucidated. Here, we show that WEE1 plays a key role in regulating CSC properties and tumor resistance to carboplatin via a microRNA-dependent mechanism. We found that WEE1 expression is upregulated in ovarian cancer spheroids because of the decreased expression of miR-424 and miR-503, which directly target WEE1. The overexpression of miR-424/503 suppressed CSC activity by inhibiting WEE1 expression, but this effect was reversed on the restoration of WEE1 expression. Furthermore, we demonstrated that NANOG modu

SUBMITTER: Cho JG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9463562 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature