Increased expression of fascin, motility associated protein, in cell cultures derived from ovarian cancer and in borderline and carcinomatous ovariantumors

Fascin bundles actin microfilaments within dynamic cellular structures such as microspikes, stress fibers and membrane ruffles. Fascin overexpression induces membrane protrusions and increased cell motility, and is highly exp ressed in various transformed cells, and in specialized normal cells includ ing neuronal, endothelial and dendritic cells. In breast cancer, fascin exp ression correlates with high-grade tumors. To investigate whether fascin mi ght be a predictor factor for ovarian cancer progression, eighteen cell cul tures derived from ovarian cancer, and thirty four archival paraffin-embedd ed material of normal versus borderline and carcinomatous ovaries were stai ned by immunocytochemistry and immunohistochemistry with fascin Mab 55K-2. Overall expression of the fascin protein was found in 50% (9/18) of cell cu ltures derived from original samples of ovarian tumors. Expression of fasci n protein was found in 67% (6/9) of cell cultures derived from patients dia gnosed with stage IV disease, and 33% (3/9) of cell cultures from patients diagnosed with stage II/III. There was no clear relationship between fascin expression and histologic types, tumor grade, or DNA ploidy. However, 75% of cell cultures, which developed into a xenograft after intraperitoneal in oculation, showed fascin expression, while 86% of non-tumorigenic cell cult ures did not show fascin expression. Expression of fascin in these establis hed ovarian tumor cell cultures was significantly associated with the abili ty for these cells to grow intraperitoneally (P <0.05). Furthermore, fascin was never expressed in normal epithelial ovarian tissues, but was present in all pathologic ovaries. Both diffuse and focal patterns were observed in borderline ovarian tumors (67% and 33%), advanced primary ovarian cancer ( 67% and 33%) and metastatic ovarian cancer (89% and 11%). Therefore, our da ta suggest that fascin could serve as a prognostic factor for abnormal ovar ian epithelial pathology and could be a novel target for the treatment of o varian cancer.