RESEARCH ARTICLE NF-κB p65 Subunit Is Modulated by Latent Transforming Growth Factor-β Binding Protein 2 (LTBP2) in Nasopharyngeal

NF-κB is a well-characterized transcription factor, widely known as a key player in tumor-de-rived inflammation and cancer development. Herein, we present the functional and molecu-lar relevance of the canonical NF-κB p65 subunit in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Loss- and gain-of-function approaches were utilized to reveal the functional characteristics of p65 in propagating tumor growth, tumor-associated angiogenesis, and epithelial-to-mes-enchymal transition in NPC cells. Extracellular inflammatory stimuli are critical factors that trigger the NF-κB p65 signaling; hence, we investigated the components of the tumor micro-environment that might potentially influence the p65 signaling pathway. This led to the iden-tification of an extracellular matrix (ECM) protein that was previously reported as a candidate tumor suppressor in NPC. Our studies on the Latent Transforming Growth Fac-tor-β Binding Protein 2 (LTBP2) protein provides substantial evidence that it can modulate the p65 transcriptional activity. Re-expression of LTBP2 elicits tumor suppressive effect