A study from the University of Michigan Medical School has revealed that a protein called EGFL6 plays an important role in the growth and metastasis of ovarian cancer, the sixth most common cancer in females. The research team also has found that targeting the protein with an antibody inhibits ovarian cancer growth and prevents the spread of cancer. EGFL6, which is a member of the epidermal growth factor repeat superfamily, functions to promote cell proliferation and acts as a stem cell regulatory factor. Previous studies have found that EGFL6 plays a role in hair follicles. To investigate whether EGFL6 also has a role in ovarian cancer stem cells, the research team triggered it in cultured ovarian cancer cells and in mouse models. Results showed that cancer grew much faster. In contrast, depleting EGFL6 caused cancer to grow much more slowly. The team went on to find that EGFL6 actually influences cancer stem cells, which are critical for cancer growth and spread. The frequent resistance to conventional treatments is a remarkable feature of cancer stem cells. With the help of microfluidic chambers, the team investigated how cancer stem cells divide and discovered that EGFL6 not only led to asymmetric division, which is associated with tumor growth, but also boosted cancer cell migration, which is related to cancer metastasis. The results demonstrate the relationship between EGFL6 and tumor growth and spread. So the researchers thought that using molecules to suppress EGFL6 might inhibit cancer progression. Experiments showed that an antibody that blocks EGFL6 led to a reduction in the number and growth of cancer stem cells. Furthermore, the antibody suppressed cancer from spreading to other parts. CusAb offers mouse polyclonal antibody. The findings, published in Cancer Research, could help to improve the treatment of ovarian cancer patients.
