Correlation between CD44 and membrane fluidity-a study on biopsies of high-grade serous ovarian tumor.

The functioning of the cell plasma membrane depends on its lipid and protein compositions[1].Changes in membrane physiochem-ical characteristics,such as fluidity,are associated with normal cellular physiology[2]and tumor malignancy[3].As an extensively distributed cell surface marker,CD44 is implicated in the pathogenesis and progression of many cancerous cells,including ovarian cancer cells[4].A previous study on a cell model indicated that the level of CD44 might be correlated with the fluidity of the plasma membrane[5].However,no study has been reported on either the status of plasma membrane fluidity or the levels of CD44 in human tumors.In the present report,we studied the status of membrane fluidity and the level of CD44 in normal ovary epithelium and stage Ⅲ high-grade serous ovarian cancer(HGSOC),a common epithelial ovarian cancer[6].The main methods are described in Supplementary Data.