Overexpression of the dynein light chain km23-1 in human ovarian carcinoma cells inhibits tumor formation in vivo and causes mitotic delay at prometaphase/metaphase

km23-1 is a dynein light chain that was identified as a TGFβ receptor-interacting protein. To investigate whether km23-1 controls human ovarian carcinoma cell (HOCC) growth, we established a tet-off inducible expression system in SKOV-3 cells in which the expression of km23-1 is induced upon doxycycline removal. We found that forced expression of km23-1 inhibited both anchorage-dependent and anchorage-independent growth of SKOV-3 cells. More importantly, induction of km23-1 expression substantially reduced the tumorigenicity of SKOV-3 cells in a xenograft model in vivo. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis of SKOV-3 and IGROV-1 HOCCs demonstrated that the cells were accumulating at G2/M. Phospho-MEK, phospho-ERK and cyclin B1 were elevated, as was the mitotic index, suggesting that km23-1 suppresses HOCCs growth by inducing a mitotic delay. Immunofluorescence analyses demonstrated that the cells were accumulating at prometaphase/metaphase with increases in multipolar and multinucleated cells. Further, although the mitotic spindle assembly checkpoint protein BubR1 was present at the prometaphase kinetochore in Dox+/− cells, it was inappropriately retained at the metaphase kinetochore in Dox− cells. Thus, the mechanism by which high levels of km23-1 suppress ovarian carcinoma growth in vitro and inhibit ovary tumor formation in vivo appears to involve a BubR1-related mitotic delay.