RhoBTB2 (DBC2) functions as a multifunctional tumor suppressor in thyroid cancer cells via mitochondrial apoptotic pathway.

Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy worldwide. Tumor suppressor gene RhoBTB2 (also known as Deleted in Breast Cancer 2, DBC2) was observed in various carcinomas, however, no reports showed the effects of RhoBTB2 on thyroid cancer. In our study, we found that RhoBTB2 decreases proliferation, increases apoptosis, inhibits mobility, and induces mitochondria damage in SW579 cells through increased Bax and decreased Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL protein expression. The effects of RhoBTB2 on SW579 cells were inversed by using butin (an inhibitor of the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway). Our results suggest that RhoBTB2 suppresses the growth of SW579 cells through a mitochondrial apoptosis pathway.