Loss of CAF-deirved exosomal miR-543 promotes ovarian cancer cell invasion and cancer metastasis

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF), as a major component in cancer microenvironment, play important roles in tumor progression. Exosomes mediate cell-cell communication through secreting contained bioinformation to recipient cells. However, the CAF-derived exosomes mediate ovarian cancer growth has not been clarified. Here, we identify significantly decrease of microRNA-543 (miR-543) in CAF and exosomes from CAF than those from normal fibroblasts (NOF) and NOF-derived exosomes. Using functional studies, we demonstrate that miR-543 is transferred from CAF to cancer cells, and suppresses ovarian cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion by binding to its downstream target, TWIST1. These data suggest that the aggressive phenotype of ovarian cancer cells can be partially related to loss of CAF-derived exosomal miR-543 in ovarian cancer microenvironemnt, and promoting the transfer of CAF-derived miR-543 is a potential modality in ovarian cancer progression treatment.