Loyda M. Meléndez

Upregulation of MMP3 Promotes Cisplatin Resistance in Ovarian Cancer

Most women with ovarian cancer (OC) develop resistance to platinum chemotherapy, posing a significant challenge to treatment. Matrix metalloproteinase 3 (MMP3) is overexpressed in High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer (HGSOC) and is associated with poor survival outcomes; however, its role in platinum resistance remains underexplored. We evaluated the baseline and cisplatin-induced MMP3 transcript and protein levels in cisplatin-resistant OC cells, revealing significantly higher MMP3 levels in cisplatin-resistant cells than in cisplatin-sensitive cells. siRNA-mediated MMP3 knockdown in cisplatin-resistant OC cells significantly reduced viability, proliferation, and invasion, and these effects were further enhanced when combined with cisplatin treatment, indicating a possible synergistic impact on reducing cancer cell aggressiveness; however, chemical MMP3 inhibition did not replicate these effects. RNA sequencing of MMP3-siRNA-treated cisplatin-resistant HGSOC cells revealed 415 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) compared to the negative control, with an additional 440 DEGs identified in MMP3-siRNA HGSOC cells treated in combination with cisplatin. These DEGs were enriched in pathways related to cell cycle regulation, apoptosis, metabolism, stress response, and extracellular matrix organization. Co-immunoprecipitation-coupled mass spectroscopy (IP-MS) identified MMP3-interacting proteins that may contribute to cell survival and chemoresistance in cisplatin-resistant OC. While MMP3-siRNA monotherapy did not reduce tumor growth in vivo, its combination with cisplatin significantly inhibited tumor growth in a cisplatin-resistant HGSOC xenograft model. These findings underscore the multifaceted role of MMP3 in cisplatin resistance, suggesting its involvement in critical cellular processes driving chemoresistance and highlighting the challenges associated with direct MMP3 targeting in therapeutic strategies.