Fig. 7. Cells obtained from ascites fluids of patients with cancers such as serous ovarian cancer show O₂ tension–dependent variability in cell surface marker profiles.

Cells for flow cytometry analysis were cultured for 5 days, and only lineage-negative (CD31-PE, CD45-PE, and CD140b-PE negative) cells were gated for the analysis. (A) CD49f/EpCAM staining patterns (n = 9). (B) The number of CD49f⁺/EpCAM⁻ cells varied on the basis of O₂ tension and tumor type. (C) EpCAM positivity also showed tumor-specific variability under physioxia compared to ambient air. (D) CD24/CD44 staining patterns of cells from ascites fluid under physioxia and ambient air (n = 9). (E) Percentage of CD44⁺ cells in each sample under physioxia and ambient air. (F) Percentage of CD24⁺ cells under physioxia and ambient air. CD24⁺ cells were lower under physioxia compared to ambient air. (G) Cells from ascites fluids collected under physioxia contained elevated levels of BRD4 protein compared to cells collected under ambient air.