Objective      To observe the effects of sulindac on endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) migration by inhibition of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) expression in ovarian cancer cell line SKOV-3.       Methods      EPCs were isolated and identified. SKOV-3 cells were treated with various concentrations of sulindac for different time periods. COX-2 mRNA level was detected by semi-quantit

ative RT-PCR. COX-2 protein level in SKOV-3 cells was detected by Western blotting. The migration of EPCs co-cultured with SKOV-3 cells were analyzed. Heparanase (HPA) protein level was detected by Western blotting and ELISA.       Results      Semi-quantitative RT-PCR demonstrated that COX-2 expression decreased in a dose- and time-dependent manner in SKOV-3 cells after treatment of sulindac (

P

0.05). Western blotting demonstrated that the levels of COX-2 protein in SKOV-3 cells were reduced obviously 48 h after sulindac 2 mmol/L treatment (

P

0.01). The migration of EPCs co-cultured with ovarian cancer cells which were treated with sulindac 2 mmol/L for 48 h was significantly lowered (

P

0.05). Western blotting results indicated that COX-2 expression level had a positive correlation with HPA expression level (r=0.977

P

0.01)

while cell migration also had a significant positive correlation with HPA protein level in SKOV-3 cells (r=0.870

P

0.05).       Conclusion      Sulindac may reduce the migration ability of EPCs by suppression of COX-2 and HPA expression.