ZNF217 expression correlates with the biological behavior of human ovarian cancer cells

The aim of the study was to investigate the correlation of zinc-finger protein 217 （ZNF217） gone ex- pression with the biological behavior of human ovarian cancer HO-8910 cells. Methods： The expression of ZNF217 in ovarian carcinoma cell line：s was detected by RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. The biological behaviors of the transfectants were investigated by MTT, in vitro Boyden chamber and in vivo invasion assay, respectively. Results： RT-PCR and Western blotting revealed that transfection of ZNF217 into the HO-8910 cells significantly increased their proliferation along with mark- edly enhanced in vitro and in vivo invasion and metastatic abilities. MTT assay showed that the proliferation ability of pEGFP- N1-ZNF217/HO-8910 cells was significantly higher than that of pEGFP-N1/HO-8910 cells and HO-8910 cells （P 〈 0.001）. The Boyden chamber assay showed that the numbers of migrating pEGFP-N1-ZNF217/HO-8910, pEGFP-N1/HO-8910 and HO-8910 cells were （141.25 ± 13.91） cells/200 x field, （82.50 ± 11.73） cells/200 × field and （81.75 ± 12.12） cells/200 x field, respectively, with a significant difference between them （F = 29.274, P 〈 0.001）. The nude mouse experiment showed that the in vivo tumor formation ability of pEGFP-N1-ZNF217/HO-8910 cells was significantly higher than that of pEGFP-N1/HO-8910 cells （P 〈 0.001）. Conclusion： Based on these clinical and laboratory observations, we conclude that ZNF217 may contribute to ovarian cancer invasion and metastasis, and associated with worse clinical outcomes. We evaluated ZNF217＇s role as a biomarker of ovarian carcinogenesis and tumor progression in patient samples and explored possible molecular mechanisms in promoting tumor growth and invasion.