The ascites that develops in advanced ovarian cancer (OC), both at diagnosis and upon recurrence, is a rich source of multi-cellular spheroids/aggregates (MCSs/MCAs), which are the major seeds of tumor cell dissemination within the abdominal cavity. However, the molecular mechanism by which specific ascites-derived tumor cells survive and metastasize remains largely unknown. In this study, we elucidated cancer stem cell (CSC) properties of ascites-derived MCSs, concomitant with enhanced malignancy, induced EMT and low KLF9 expression, compared to primary tumor cells (PTCs). KLF9 was also down-regulated in OC cell line-derived spheroids and CD117+CD44+ subpopulation in MCSs. Functional experiments demonstrated that KLF9 negatively modulated stem-like properties in OC cells. Mechanistic studies revealed that KLF9 reduced the transcriptional expression of Notch1 by directly binding to Notch1 promoter, thereby inhibited function of slug in a CSL-dependent manner. Clinically, expression of KLF9 was associated with histological grade and loss of KLF9 predicts poor prognosis in OC.
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