Estrogen receptor 1 regulates ovarian cancer cell stemness and ferroptosis through modulation of the canonical RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway

Figure 3 Effect of estrogen receptor 1 downregulation on cell stemness and ferroptosis in A2780 cells. A2780 cells were transfected with si-NC and si-ESR1. A: Aldehyde dehydrogenas activity was reduced following transfection with si-ESR1; B: Cell spheroidization assay demonstrated a decrease in cell stemness; C: Protein levels of octamer-binding transcription factor 4 and Nanog were notably decreased; D: Fe²⁺ content increased; E: Expression levels of ferritin heavy chain and ferritin light chain were significantly elevated, while the expression of transferrin receptor 1 was decreased. Data was expressed as mean ± SD (n = 3). ^bP < 0.01 vs si-NC group. ALDH: Aldehyde dehydrogenas; ESR1: Estrogen receptor 1; OCT4: Octamer-binding transcription factor 4; FTH: Ferritin heavy chain; FTL: Ferritin light chain; TFR1: Transferrin receptor 1.