A short peptide reverses the aggressive phenotype of prostate cancer cells.

Previous studies have demonstrated that fibroblast growth factor 8b (FGF8b) is up-regulated in a large proportion of prostate cancer patients, and plays a key role in the aggressive progress of prostate cancer. Herein, we investigated the effects of a short peptide derived from the gN helix domain of FGF8b on the metastatic behaviors of prostate cancer cells. The results demonstrated that the synthetic peptide might reverse the effects of FGF8b on cell proliferation, migration and invasion by suppressing the activation of MAPK and Akt signaling cascades, and reducing the expressions of the metastasis-related proteins, resulting in suppression of the aggressive phenotype of the prostate cancer cells. Collectively, these results underline the therapeutic potential of the FGF8b mimic peptide in advanced prostate cancer.