TIPE2 inhibits melanoma progression through MEK/ERK signaling.

Recent studies have uncovered that TIPE2 is involved in the development of cancer. However, less research has been conducted on the role of TIPE2 in melanoma. Our study aims to elucidate the mechanism of action of TIPE2 in the development of melanoma. We examined TIPE2 expression in paracarcinoma tissue and melanoma tissues and found that TIPE2 expression was downregulated in melanoma tissue compared with paracarcinoma tissue. Overexpression of TIPE2 significantly inhibited the proliferation of melanoma cells in vitro and even inhibited tumor formation in vivo. The CCK8 assay results indicated that TIPE2 overexpression suppressed the proliferation of melanoma cells. The colony-forming ability and wound healing ability of TIPE2-overexpressing melanoma cells were significantly reduced compared with those of control cells. Moreover, immunohistochemistry experiments using a nude mouse tumor model showed consistent results. TIPE2 inhibited the phosphorylation of MEK and ERK. In summary, TIPE2 suppresses the proliferation and migration of melanoma cells by affecting proliferation-related factors and possibly by regulating the MEK/ERK pathway. TIPE2 could be used to inhibit melanoma growth and is a potential drug target for future drug development.