G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 (GPER-1) and agonist G-1 inhibit growth of ovarian cancer cells by activation of anti-tumoral transcriptome responses: impact of GPER-1 mRNA on survival

Purpose The present study intended to further elucidate the role of G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 (GPER-1) in ovarian cancer by comparing the effects of a GPER-1 knockdown and treatment with its agonist G-1 on cell growth, apoptosis, and the transcriptome of two ovarian cancer cell lines. Furthermore, the role of GPER-1 in ovarian cancer survival was examined. Methods GPER-1 expression in OVCAR-3 and OAW-42 ovarian cancer cells was knocked down by RNAi. The effects on cell growth were measured by means of the fluorimetric cell titer blue assay and on the transcriptome by Affymetrix GeneChip analysis. The effect of GPER-1 on patient’s survival was examined using open source mRNA and clinical data of 1657 ovarian cancer patients. Results GPER-1 knockdown resulted in a significant growth stimulation of both cell lines, whereas treatment with agonist G-1 decreased growth of both cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. Transcriptome analyses revealed a set of 18 genes being conversely regulated after GPER-1 knockdown and G-1 treatment. Generally, treatment with G-1 led to a transcriptome response associated with growth inhibition. In contrast, knockdown of GPER-1 exerted opposite effects, stimulating pathways activating mitosis, but inhibiting pathways associated with apoptosis or interferon signaling. Further analyses using open-access mRNA and clinical data by bioinformatical online tools revealed a longer OS (HR = 0.86, p = 0.057) and PFS (HR = 0.81, p = 0.0035) of ovarian cancer patients with high GPER-1 mRNA expression. Conclusions The results of this study clearly support the hypothesis that GPER-1 acts as a tumor suppressor in ovarian cancer.