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Updated: Feb 3, 2026

Evaluation of Cancer Stem Cell Migration Using Compartmentalizing Microfluidic Devices and Live Cell Imaging
Published on: December 23, 2011
Effect of lamin-A expression on migration and nuclear stability of ovarian cancer cells
Yixuan Wang1, Jing Jiang2, Liuqing He2
1Department of Pathology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China; Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Objective:
Nuclear lamina plays important roles in nuclear shape and mechanical stability. Many studies demonstrated that defects of lamin-A were associated with several diseases, but little research was found on its potential roles in ovarian cancer.
Methods:
GEPIA and GEO database were used to analyze lamin-A in ovarian tissues, followed by assessing lamin-A and prognosis of ovarian cancer patients with Kaplan-Meier plotter. Then, transient transfected HO-8910 cells with shRNA to knockdown lamin-A. Knockdown efficiency was determined by western blot, qRT-PCR and immunofluorescence. Meanwhile, lamin-A was overexpressed in HO-8910 PM cells. Then, 2D migration, 3D migration through 3 μm and 8 μm pores were carried out, followed by immunofluorescence and TEM observation.
Results:
Lamin-A tended to be lower in ovarian cancer, and higher expression of lamin-A was associated with better survival. After lamin-A knockdown, 2D and 3D migration (3 μm, 8 μm) abilities of HO-8910 cells were significantly increased (p < 0.001), while overexpression of lamin-A in HO-8910PM impeded migration. Meanwhile, when HO-8910 cells migrated through 3 μm pores, nuclei became strikingly elongated, and down-regulation of lamin-A promoted nuclear plasticity, making the circularity of nucleus increased. Besides, further knockdown group had the highest proportion of γ-H2AX, with micronuclei forming. Furthermore, western blot showed that the expression of BRCA1, Ku80 and Rad50 decreased significantly after further knockdown, suggesting impairment of DNA damage repair.
Conclusions:
Lamin-A was down-regulated in ovarian cancer, and higher lamin-A was associated with better prognosis. Nuclei with high lamin-A were severely deformed through constricted pores. Moderate lamin-A enhanced nuclear plasticity, so as to strengthen migration ability. When lamin-A was further knockdown, ovarian cancer cells that migrated through restricted pores decreased, with DNA damage, genomic instability and impairment of DNA damage repair.
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