A Peptide Derived from Nectin-4 Increases Cisplatin Cytotoxicity in Cell Lines and Cells from Ovarian Cancer Patients’ Ascites

Despite an initial response to chemotherapy, most ovarian cancer patients will relapse within 5 years of diagnosis, and many will become resistant to standard chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to test the inhibition of cell adhesion as a novel strategy to increase the chemosensitivity of ovarian cancer cells. Our previous work on the cell adhesion protein Nectin-4 showed that peptides from the extracellular region of Nectin-4 block the formation of cell–cell aggregates known as spheroids. In this study, we tested the ability of the peptide N4-P10 to block spheroid formation in cell lines and cells isolated from the ascites of ovarian cancer patients using digital time-lapse photography of live cells. Cells were then tested for the cytotoxicity of the chemotherapeutic agent, cisplatin. We found that treatment with peptide N4-P10 blocked aggregation and increased the cytotoxicity of cisplatin in cell lines and patient cells, supporting the efficacy of this approach.