Nitric oxide signaling in human ovarian cancer: A potential therapeutic target

• Published in: Nitric oxide 2016-04, Vol.54, p.30-37
• Main Authors: El-Sehemy, Ahmed, Postovit, Lynne-Marie, Fu, YangXin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antineoplastic Agents - pharmacology; Apoptosis; Azo Compounds - pharmacology; Biomarkers, Tumor - metabolism; Diagnostic marker; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; Female; Humans; iNOS; Nitric oxide; Nitric Oxide - metabolism; Nitric Oxide Donors - pharmacology; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II - metabolism; Ovarian cancer; Ovarian Neoplasms - metabolism; Ovarian Neoplasms - pathology; para-Aminobenzoates - pharmacology; Signal Transduction; Soluble Guanylyl Cyclase - metabolism; Therapeutic target
• ISSN: 1089-8603; 1089-8611
• DOI: 10.1016/j.niox.2016.02.002

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death due to gynecologic malignancies worldwide. Current therapy regimens are ineffective to treat advanced ovarian cancers, presenting a need to develop novel therapeutic strategies. Nitric oxide (NO) is a multifunctional gaseous molecule that is generated by cancer, stromal and endothelial cells and plays a multifaceted role in cancer biology through multiple mechanisms. Accumulating evidence suggests that NO signaling is involved in multiple aspects of ovarian cancer, including growth, apoptosis, cancer-stromal cell interaction, angiogenesis and response to chemotherapy. This review will discuss the experimental and clinical evidence of the involvement of NO signaling in ovarian cancer and the therapeutic potential of targeting NO signaling in ovarian cancer. •NO plays a multifaceted role in a context-dependent manner in ovarian cancer.•iNOS expression can be a potential prognostic marker for ovarian cancer.•NO affects growth and apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner.•NO is involved in the microenvironment and cancer cell interaction in ovarian cancer.•NO signaling is a potential therapeutic target for ovarian cancer.