Down-regulation of LTBP2 suppresses the proliferation, migration and invasion in human prostate cancer cells

Latent transforming growth factor-beta binding protein 2 (LTBP2) is a member of the LTBPs family. It is dysregulated in many types of tumors and associated with proliferation, migration, and invasion. However, the potential involvement of LTBP2 in prostate cancer has not been fully explored. Therefore, in the present study, we analyzed the expression of LTBP2 in prostate cancer and explore its role in prostate cancer carcinogenesis. Our results demonstrated that the expression levels of LTBP2 at both mRNA and protein were significantly up-regulated in human prostate cancer tissues and cell lines. Moreover, functional studies established that down-regulation of LTBP2 suppressed the proliferation, migration and invasion of prostate cancer cells. Mechanistic investigation showed that down-regulation of LTBP2 significantly inhibited the levels of phospho-PI3K and phospho-Akt in LNCaP cells. In conclusion, the experimental results revealed that LTBP2 as an oncogene in prostate cancer, and knockdown of LTBP2 can efficiently inhibit prostate cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion, at least partially through suppressing the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Thus, LTBP2 may be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of prostate cancer.