PTPRO suppresses lymph node metastasis of esophageal carcinoma by dephosphorylating MET

Protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor-type O (PTPRO) is a membrane-bound tyrosine phosphatase. Notably, epigenetically silenced PTPRO due to promoter hypermethylation is frequently linked to malignancies. In this study, we used cellular and animal models, and patient samples to demonstrate that PTPRO can suppress the metastasis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Mechanistically, PTPRO can inhibit MET-mediated metastasis by dephosphorylating Y1234/1235 in the kinase activation loop of MET. Patients with PTPROlow/p-METhigh had significantly poor prognosis, suggesting that PTPROlow/p-METhigh can serve as an independent prognostic factor for patients with ESCC.