Cell-cycle related centromere protein F deficiency suppresses ovarian cancer cells growth by inducing ferroptosis

<b><i>Objectives:</i></b> This study aimed to investigate the involvement of the cell cycle-related protein centromere protein F (CENPF) in the development of ovarian cancer (OC) and explored its relationship with ferroptosis. <b><i>Design:</i></b> The databases were analysed to identify differential expression of cell cycle-related proteins between individuals with OC and normal individuals. Immunohistochemistry and statistical analysis were conducted on ovarian tissues obtained from 40 patients with epithelial OC and 20 normal individuals. In vitro experiments were performed using SKOV3 and HEY epithelial OC cell lines. <b><i>Participants/Materials, Setting, Methods:</i></b> The mRNA microarray dataset, consisting of GSE14001, GSE54388, GSE40595, and GSE14407, was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database to investigate the genes associated with cell cycle regulation in OC cells. CENPF was selected as the subject of study through differential analysis.<b></b>Assessed the expression of CENPF in both OC patients and normal ovarian tissues using immunohistochemistry. Lentivirus infection was employed to downregulate CENPF expression, and subsequent experiments including Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, cell cycle analysis, transwell assay, and wound-healing assay were conducted to investigate the effects of CENPF on proliferation, invasion, migration, and cell cycle regulation in OC cells. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the malondialdehyde (MDA) assays were performed to assess the involvement of CENPF in cellular redox reactions. Western blot analysis was conducted to examine the expression levels of ferroptosis-related proteins (GPX4, SLC7A11, DMT1, and protein 53 [p53]). <b><i>Results:</i></b> By querying and integrating cell cycle-related genes from the GEO database, in silico analyses using The Cancer Genome Atlas database combined with immunohistochemical studies, we discovered that CENPF is upregulated in OC tissues and is related to survival. Downregulation of CENPF inhibited biological function of OC cells, increased intracellular ROS and MDA levels, and downregulated the GPX4 protein and the SLC7A11/xCT protein, but upregulated the DMT1 protein and the tumour p53 expression to induce ferroptosis. <b><i>Limitations:</i></b> This study did not investigate ferroptosis-related studies following CENPF overexpression, and the findings have not been validated in animal studies. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Our findings demonstrated that the deficiency of CENPF played a crucial anti-oncogenic role in the progression of OC through the mechanism of ferroptosis.