PHOSPHATE exporter XPR1/SLC53A1 is required for the tumorigenicity of epithelial ovarian cancer
Yoko Akasu‐Nagayoshi, Tomoatsu Hayashi, Ayako Kawabata, Naomi Shimizu, Ai Yamada, Naoko Yokota, Ryuichiro Nakato, Katsuhiko Shirahige, Aikou Okamoto, Tetsu Akiyama
Abstract
Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer-related death in women. Ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC) is a chemotherapy-resistant epithelial ovarian cancer with poor prognosis. As a basis for the development of therapeutic agents that could improve the prognosis of OCCC, we performed a screen for proteins critical for the tumorigenicity of OCCC using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Here we show that knockdown of the phosphate exporter XPR1/SLC53A1 induces the growth arrest and apoptosis of OCCC cells in vitro. Moreover, we show that knockdown of XPR1/SLC53A1 inhibits the proliferation of OCCC cells xenografted into immunocompromised mice. These results suggest that XPR1/SLC53A1 plays a critical role in the tumorigenesis of OCCC cells. We speculate that XPR1/SLC53A1 might be a promising molecular target for the therapeutic treatment of OCCC.