Effects of PELP1 on proliferation,metastasis and angiogenesis of epithelial ovarian cancer

Objective: To investigate the effects of Proline,Glutamic acid and Leucine rich protein 1(PELP1) on the biological behaviors of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) cells and its role in promoting angiogenesis through the regulation of VEGFA expression and secretion. Methods: Bioinformatics analysis was performed to evaluate the correlation between PELP1 and VEGFA. The expression levels and subcellular localization of PELP1 and VEGFA in EOC cell lines were assessed using Western blot (WB), quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and immunofluorescence. Functional assays, including EdU proliferation assays, wound healing assays, Transwell invasion assays and WB were conducted to examine the effects of PELP1 overexpression. VEGFA expression and secretion were analyzed by immunofluorescence, qRT-PCR, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Conditioned medium (CM) from PELP1-overexpression cells was used to culture human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and angiogenesis was evaluated using CCK-8, wound healing, Transwell migration, and tube formation assays. Results: Bioinformatics analysis revealed a positive correlation between PELP1 and VEGFA in EOC. Both proteins were significantly upregulated in EOC cells compared to normal ovarian epithelial cells. Overexpression of PELP1 enhanced proliferation, migration, invasion and the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers, including N-cadherin and Vimentin. Additionally, PELP1 upregulated VEGFA expression and secretion, which subsequently promoted HUVEC proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis. Conclusions: PELP1 promotes EOC progression by enhancing cellular proliferation, metastasis and angiogenesis through the regulation of VEGFA. These findings suggest that PELP1 could serve as a potential therapeutic target for EOC.