Downregulation of LRIG2 expression by RNA interference inhibits glioblastoma cell (GL15) growth, causes cell cycle redistribution, increases cell apoptosis and enhances cell adhesion and invasion in vitro.

The leucine-rich and immunoglobulin-like domains (LRIG) gene family contains LRIG1, 2 and 3. LRIG1 is a negative regulator of EGFR, but little is known about the function of LRIG2. To determine the role of LRIG2 in the progression of glioma, we performed RNA interference-mediated knockdown of LRIG2 in a human glioma cell line (GL15). Downregulation of LRIG2 expression resulted in: rapid EGF-mediated loss of EGFR; decreased proliferation; G(0)/G(1) arrest; increased spontaneous apoptosis; enhanced cell adhesion and increased invasion capability of GL15 cells in vitro. These findings indicate that LRIG2 possesses distinct functions compared with LRIG1 and validate the attractiveness of LRIG2 as a target in glioma therapy.