KLF4 expression enhances the efficacy of chemotherapy drugs in ovarian cancer cells

KLF4 is a transcriptional factor that can function either as a tumor suppressor or oncogene in cancer based on its cellular context. We recently demonstrated that KLF4 was a tumor suppressor in ovarian cancer cells by inhibiting the epithelial to mesenchymal transition. Here we report that KLF4 expression was downregulated in ovarian cancer tissue compared to normal ovarian tissue, and low KLF4 expression correlated with high risk ovarian carcinoma and poor patient survival. Enforced KLF4 expression by lentiviral transduction sensitized ovarian cancer cells to the effects of the chemotherapy drugs, paclitaxel and cisplatin. Treatment of ovarian cancer cells with APTO-253, a small molecule inducer of KLF4, enhanced the efficacy of both chemotherapy drugs. KLF4 expression mediated by lentiviral vector or induced by APTO-253 resulted in G1 phase arrest in ovarian cancer cells. Our results demonstrate that for the first time that inducing KLF4 expression with APTO-253 is a novel therapeutic strategy for treating ovarian cancer.