REGULATION OF OVARIAN SURFACE EPITHELIAL CELLS

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The ovarian surface epithelium (OSE) is a monolayer surrounding the ovary that comprises less than 1/1,000th of the ovarian mass, yet it gives rise to nearly 90% of ovarian cancers in women. With a life-time risk of ovarian cancer almost 1 in 50, OSE cells must be considered among the most highly prone to transformation. Currently no animal model exists for these ovarian cancers, because they have only been reported in primates and the hen. This project was developed to facilitate a nonhuman primate model to investigate rhesus macaque OSE (RhOSE) cell biology in vitro and in vivo. Initial studies established RhOSE cell cultures and performed comparative analysis with human OSE cells. These data showed high similarity between human and rhesus OSE cells, sharing patterns of gene expression not seen in OSE cells from laboratory or domestic animals, such as rodents, sheep, and pigs. The long-term goal of this project is to use cell culture, microarray, and molecular techniques to determine how RhOSE proliferation and survival are regulated in vitro, and translate these findings to the whole animal in vivo. The results of these efforts may indicate what physiological events promote OSE transformation and may translate into clinical applications to develop more effective ovarian cancer therapies, means for early detection, and prevention.