Beta 2-microglobulin regulates amyloid precursor-like protein 2 expression and the migration of pancreatic cancer cells.

Beta 2-microglobulin (β2m) is a component of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecule, which presents tumor antigens to T lymphocytes to trigger cancer cell destruction. Notably, β2m has been reported as persistently expressed, rather than down regulated, in some tumor types. For renal cell and oral squamous cell carcinomas, β2m expression has been linked to increased migratory capabilities. The migratory ability of pancreatic cancer cells contributes to their metastatic tendencies and lethal nature. Therefore, in this study, we examined the impact of β2m on pancreatic cancer cell migration. We found that β2m protein is amply expressed in several human pancreatic cancer cell lines (S2-013, PANC-1, and MIA PaCa-2). Reducing β2m expression by short interfering RNA (siRNA) transfection significantly slowed the migration of the PANC-1 and S2-013 cancer cell lines, but increased the migration of the MIA PaCa-2 cell line. The amyloid precursor-like protein 2 (APLP2) has been documented as contributing to pancreatic cancer cell migration, invasiveness, and metastasis. We have previously shown that β2m/HLA class I/peptide complexes associate with APLP2 in S2-013 cells, and in this study we also detected their association in PANC-1 cells but not MIA PaCa-2 cells. In addition, siRNA down regulation of β2m expression diminished the expression of APLP2 in S2-013 and PANC-1 but heightened the level of APLP2 in MIA PaCa-2 cells, consistent with our migration data and co-immunoprecipitation data. Thus, our findings indicate that β2m regulates pancreatic cancer cell migration, and furthermore suggest that APLP2 is an intermediary in this process.