Title:

Identification of STAT3 Target Genes That Promote Ovarian Cancer  Metastasis

Ovarian cancer is the 5th leading cause of cancer related deaths in women. The high morbidity comes from the cancer’s late stage detection and chemo-resistant properties. We discovered that the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) protein had higher activation in cells grown in 3D compared to 2D. After decreasing the activity of STAT3 we observed that the cancer was not able to grow properly. We developed the ‘Mesothelial Clearance Assay’ to model the early stages of ovarian cancer metastasis where the cells move from the primary tumor to other portions of the abdomen. We tested STAT3 reduced ovarian cancer on the clearance assay and showed STAT3 activation is important for metastasis. To identify how STAT3 promotes ovarian metastasis, , STAT3 target gene analysis was performed, and downstream targets were identified. These genes were compared to genes known to promote metastasis, and we identified 4 genes: SLUG, ITGB3, TMEM 173, and ICAM1 as potential STAT3 target genes that promote metastasis. The mesothelial clearance of the downstream targets was tested, and these targets showed a relationship with ovarian cancer metastasis.

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