Exosomes Derived from Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells (BMSCs) Inhibit the Invasion and Metastasis of Ovarian Cancer by Regulating Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Under Hypoxic Microenvironment

This study intends to explore the mechanism underlying bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs)-derived exosomes (exo) impacting the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and OC cell development. RT-qPCR determined HIF-1 α level in OC tissues and cells. OC cells were cocultured with BMSC-exo and transfected with plasmids expressing si-NC, pc-DNA-HIF-1 α or si-HIF-1 α followed by analysis of cell viability, migration, proliferation or apoptosis by CCK-8 assay, clone formation assay or flow cytometry and EMT-related protein expression. HIF-1 α expression increased in OC tissues and its level was positively correlated with the diagnostic sensitivity. In the presence of BMSC-exo and pc-DNA-HIF-1 α , cell viability and invasion of were significantly increased, and decreased by transfection of si-HIF-1 α with down-regulated EMT-related proteins. In conclusion, HIF-1 α is up-regulated in OC and BMSC-exo promotes OC development and accelerates EMT progression, which provides a novel insight into the impact of BMSCs on OC.