NDRG2 expression regulates CD24 and metastatic potential of breast cancer cells.

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women in the world. High incidence and poor clinical outcomes underly the need for a better understanding of its tumor biology and how to effectively inhibit tumor progression. In the present study the question of whether NDRG2 might be a useful target for breast cancer therapy was addressed. With the increase or decrease of NDRG2 levels in MCF-7 and Bcap-37 cells by adenovirus-NDRG2 infection or NDRG2 siRNA transfection, CD24 expression was significantly decreased or increased, respectively. Furthermore, NDRG2 overexpression suppressed breast cancer cell adhesion and invasion, whereas knockdown of NDRG2 promoted these events. In conclusion, the data from the current study indicated that NDRG2, the product of a tumor suppressor gene, can regulate CD24 expression to decrease the metastatic potential of breast cancer cells.