Downregulation of TRIM27 expression inhibits the proliferation of ovarian cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.

TRIM27 (tripartite motif-containing 27) was originally identified as a fusion partner with the RET (REarranged during transfection) proto-oncogene and is highly expressed in various tumor cells and tissues. However, the level of expression and function of TRIM27 in ovarian cancer remain unclear. Here we have measured the expression of TRIM27 in normal ovarian and fallopian tube epithelial cells and in ovarian serous carcinoma cells and correlated TRIM27 expression with clinical and pathological parameters. In addition, we detected the effect of TRIM27 knockdown on proliferation of ovarian cancer cells in cell culture and xenografts. The results demonstrated that TRIM27 was highly expressed in ovarian serous carcinoma cells, and TRIM27 expression was significantly correlated with metastasis and FIGO stage in ovarian serous carcinoma patients. Downregulation of TRIM27 expression suppressed the proliferation of ovarian cancer cells in cell culture and inhibited the growth of xenografts in nude mice. TRIM27 knockdown induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells by upregulating the expression of p-P38 and downregulating the expression of p-AKT. Thus the present study suggests that TRIM27 could have important roles as an oncogene during the development of ovarian cancer and could serve as a diagnostic and therapeutic target.