Abstract B100: Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) induce platinum resistance in ovarian cancer through altering mitochondrial function
Authors: Rickard Brittany P. , Overchuk Marta , Chappell Vesna A. , Bortner Carl D. , Bae-Jump Victoria L. , Fenton Suzanne E. , Rizvi Imran 
Published: March 2024

Platinum resistance is a major barrier to the effective treatment of advanced-stage ovarian cancer; however, factors leading to the development of resistance are not well understood. In fact, the role of environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals, such as perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), have seldom been explored. This is important because select PFAS have been linked to adverse reproductive outcomes in females including endometriosis, oocyte apoptosis, infertility, and increased even ovarian cancer risk at very high exposure levels. The relationship between PFAS and adverse female reproductive outcomes, as well as reports of other endocrine disruptors leading to therapy resistance, led, in the current study, to the evaluation of the effect of PFAS exposure on response to carboplatin in ovarian cancer cells. We recently showed that select PFAS, at human-relevant concentrations, induced carboplatin resistance in OVCAR-3 and Caov-3 cells; however, the mechanism underlying the onset of resistance remains largely unknown. Since platinum-resistant ovarian cancer is characterized, in part, by increased mitochondrial networks and enhanced bioenergetic capacities, the central hypothesis of this study is that PFAS induce alterations to mitochondrial biology. Mitochondrial endpoints of interest included redox ratio and superoxide production. To measure redox ratio, nicotinamide dinucleotide (NADH) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), which are inherently fluorescent, were measured using a fluorescence plate reader. Since NADH and FAD are metabolites produced via oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis, evaluating redox ratio can provide an understanding of which pathway is preferred in the presence of environmental stimuli like PFAS. In OVCAR-3 and Caov-3 cells, baseline NADH:FAD ratios were 3.3 and 3.5, respectively. After 48 hours of PFAS exposure, NADH:FAD ratios of OVCAR-3 and Caov-3 cells ranged from 8-10 or 6-10, respectively. This increase after PFAS exposure could suggest enhanced energy production capabilities that warrant further investigation. As an additional measure, superoxide production was measured using flow cytometry. OVCAR-3 and Caov-3 cells were exposed to PFAS for 6 days prior to isolating cell pellets and incubating them with MitoSOX (mitochondrial) and SYTOX Blue (nuclear) dyes. After 15–30-minute incubations, samples were run on the flow cytometer. Compared to controls, superoxide production in PFAS-exposed ovarian cancer cells increased by up to 200%. Often, cancer cells have elevated levels of reactive oxygen species due to enhanced energy production and signaling pathways, thus this finding further suggests that PFAS affect mitochondrial energy pathways. Altogether, these data show that PFAS exposure, which can induce carboplatin resistance in OVCAR-3 and Caov-3 cells, increases redox ratios and superoxide production in ovarian cancer cells. Therefore, targeting alterations in mitochondrial biology arising from PFAS exposure using precision medicine could be effective in overcoming platinum resistance in ovarian cancer.

Citation Format: Brittany P. Rickard, Marta Overchuk, Vesna A. Chappell, Carl D. Bortner, Victoria L. Bae-Jump, Suzanne E. Fenton, Imran Rizvi. Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) induce platinum resistance in ovarian cancer through altering mitochondrial function [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Ovarian Cancer; 2023 Oct 5-7; Boston, Massachusetts. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(5 Suppl_2):Abstract nr B100.