Knockdown of proteolipid protein 2 or focal adhesion kinase with an artificial microRNA reduces growth and metastasis of B16BL6 melanoma cells.

Proteolipid protein 2 (PLP2) promotes the metastasis of B16F10 cells in an experimental metastasis model. However, the effect of PLP2 on spontaneous metastasis has yet to be demonstrated, and whether PLP2 may become a new therapeutic target for malignant tumors is as yet unknown. In this study, PLP2 or focal adhesion kinase (FAK) microRNA-based short hairpin RNAs (miRNAs) were used as target molecules to specifically reduce the expression of PLP2 or FAK in B16BL6 cells. In vitro, the knockdown of PLP2 or FAK significantly inhibited cell proliferation, adhesion, migration and invasion. In a spontaneous metastatic tumor model using a footpad injection, the knockdown of PLP2 or FAK markedly inhibited the proliferation of the primary tumor and prevented tumor cells from invading the popliteal lymph nodes. The results indicate that downregulation of PLP2 or FAK may improve outcomes of malignant tumor therapy.