Suppression of TAFI by siRNA inhibits invasion and migration of breast cancer cells.

Human thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI), also known as carboxypeptidase B2 (CPB2), is a procarboxypeptidase enzyme. The purpose of the present study was to observe the expression of TAFI in breast cancer (BC) and breast cancer cell (BCC) lines and to investigate the effect of TAFI suppression by small interfering (si)RNA gene silencing on invasion and migration of BCC lines. A significant increase in TAFI level was identified by immunohistochemical analysis in BC tissues compared with normal breast tissues. TAFI suppression also inhibited cell viability, invasion and migration ability as demonstrated by MTT, Transwell chamber, and wound scratch assays, respectively (P<0.05). The data suggested that suppression of TAFI by siRNA inhibits invasion and migration of breast cancer cells and that TAFI may be a new target for breast cancer therapy.