Ovarian cancer is a highly deadly disease, which is often diagnosed at a late stage with metastases. However, most ovarian cancers relapse after surgery combined with platinum-based chemotherapy. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are stem-like cells that possess high tumorigenic capability and display higher resistant capability against current therapies. However, our knowledge of ovarian CSCs and their molecular mechanism remains sparse. In the current study, we found that KDM4C, a histone demethylase, was required for ovarian cancer stem cell (CSC) maintenance. Depletion of KDM4C significantly reduced the CSC population and sphere formation in vitro. Moreover, we found that KDM4C can regulate the expression of stem cell factor OCT-4 via binding to its promoter. These data indicate that KDM4C is relevant for ovarian CSC maintenance and underscore its importance as a potential therapeutic target.

中文翻译：

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组蛋白去甲基化酶KDM4C是卵巢癌干细胞维持所必需的。

卵巢癌是一种高度致命的疾病，通常在转移的晚期被诊断出来。但是，大多数卵巢癌在联合铂类化疗后会复发。癌症干细胞（CSC）是干细胞样细胞，具有很高的致瘤能力，并显示出对当前疗法的更高耐药能力。但是，我们对卵巢CSC及其分子机制的了解仍然很少。在当前的研究中，我们发现，组蛋白脱甲基酶KDM4C是维持卵巢癌干细胞（CSC）所必需的。KDM4C的耗竭显着减少了体外CSC群体和球的形成。此外，我们发现KDM4C可以通过与其启动子结合来调节干细胞因子OCT-4的表达。