Meis homeobox 2 (MEIS2) inhibits the proliferation and promotes apoptosis of thyroid cancer cell and through the NF-κB signaling pathway

Investigation of effects of Meis homeobox 2 (MEIS2) on proliferation and apoptosis of thyroid cancer (TC) cells and its specific molecular mechanism is the main purpose of this study. In this study, we found that the expression of MEIS2 was down-regulated in TC tissues and cell lines (B-CPAP, TPC-1 and K1), compared to adjacent histologically normal tissues and normal thyroid cell (Nthy-ori 3–1). Then, overexpression of MEIS2 promoted B-CPAP cell apoptosis and decreased cell proliferation, viability and cell cycle progression. Further studies confirmed that overexpression of MEIS2 could significantly decrease p65 expression in the nucleus of B-CPAP cells. However, the opposite results were presented after interference of MEIS2 expression. Taken together, MEIS2 expression was significantly down-regulated in TC. In addition, MEIS2 could inhibit NF-κB pathway activation, so as to perform both suppression of the viability and proliferation of TC cells and promotion of apoptosis.