Protein tyrosine phosphatase nonreceptor type 2 exerts antimetastatic functions in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Abstract Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly invasive tumor with a dismal prognosis. Recent studies have demonstrated PTPN2 (protein tyrosine phosphatase nonreceptor type 2) as a potential target for cancer therapy. However, the functions of PTPN2 in PDAC progression remain poorly understood. In this study, we found PTPN2 expression was downregulated in PDAC tissues, and decreased PTPN2 expression was associated with unfavorable prognosis. Functional studies indicated that PTPN2 knockdown promoted the migration and invasion abilities of PDAC cells in vitro, and the liver metastasis in vivo through epithelial–mesenchymal transition process. Mechanistically, MMP‐1 was identified as a downstream target of PTPN2 via RNA‐seq data and was responsible for the enhanced metastasis of PDAC cells upon PTPN2 knockdown. Moreover, according to chromatin immunoprecipitation and electrophoretic mobility shift assay, PTPN2 depletion transcriptionally activated MMP‐1 via regulating the interaction of p‐STAT3 with its distal promoter. This study, for the first time, demonstrated that PTPN2 inhibited PDAC metastasis, and presented a novel PTPN2/p‐STAT3/MMP‐1 axis in PDAC progression.