Overexpression of Protease Serine 8 Inhibits Glioma Cell Proliferation, Migration, and Invasion via Suppressing the Akt/mTOR Signaling Pathway

Protease serine 8 (PRSS8), a serine peptidase, has a widespread expression in normal epidermal cells. Recently, many researchers demonstrated downregulation of PRSS8 in cancer tissues as well as its tumor suppressor role in cancer development. However, the biological functions of PRSS8 in glioma remain unclear. In the current study, we demonstrated a decreased expression of PRSS8 in glioma tissues and cell lines. PRSS8 upregulation inhibited glioma cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. In addition, xenograft experiments showed that PRSS8 overexpression suppressed glioma cell growth in vivo. We also found that upregulated PRSS8 reduced the protein expression levels of p-Akt and p-mTOR in glioma cells. Taken together, our study demonstrated that overexpression of PRSS8 inhibited glioma cell proliferation, migration, and invasion via suppressing the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. Therefore, PRSS8 may act as a novel therapeutic target for glioma.