Transcriptome analysis on ovarian cancer

We are studying signaling pathways and growth properties of cultured human ovarian cancer cells that are expressing the G protein-coupled receptor, luteinizing hormone receptor (LHR),particularly interested in the changes that occur when the receptor is activated by its cognate ligand, gonadotropin (LH). To investigate these questions, we have employed the SKOV3 ovarian cancer cell line that has been stably transfected with LHR, and can then test the response of these cells in culture following exposure to LH. The parent SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cell line was chosen as a control in this study since it does not express LHR, and, following transfection, the LHR+ cells serve to determine the alterations in gene expression elicited by LH. The LHR+ cells bound human chorionic gonadotropin with a Kd of 0.3 nM (human chorionic gonadotropin and LH utilize the same G protein-coupled receptor, LHR), consistent with the binding affinity using ovarian reproductive cells, and responded to LH with increased intracellular levels of cAMP and inositol phosphates. In total, six groups of SKOV-3 cells (LHR-, LHR+, and LHR+ incubated with LH for various times: 1, 4, 8, and 20 h), each with three independent replicates, were used for examining the cell response.