Repression of M-phase phosphoprotein 8 inhibits melanoma growth and metastasis in vitro and in vivo.

ABSTRACT

Metastatic melanoma accounts for the majority of skin cancer deaths due to its aggressiveness and high resistance to current therapies. M-phase phosphoprotein 8 (MPP8) has been shown to bind to methylated H3K9 and promote tumor cell motility and invasion. The current study aimed to investigate the role of MPP8 in melanoma growth and metastasis. Our results showed that MMP8 was up-regulated in the metastatic melanoma specimens. Knockdown of MPP8 inhibited melanoma cell growth both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, down-regulation of MPP8 induced S-phase cell cycle arrest as well as altered expression of cell cycle-related proteins in melanoma cells. In addition, repression of MPP8 inhibited the migration and invasion of melanoma cells both in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, these data suggest that MPP8 knockdown could inhibit the growth and metastasis of melanoma cells and provide novel therapeutic target for melanoma treatment.