Ezetimibe inhibits the migration and invasion of triple-negative breast cancer cells by targeting TGF2 and EMT

The important role of cholesterol in tumor metastasis has been widely studied in recent years. Ezetimibe is currently the only selective cholesterol uptake inhibitor on the market. Here, we explored the effect of ezetimibe on breast cancer metastasis by studying its impact on breast cancer cell migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Differential gene expression analysis and validation were also carried out to compare ezetimibe-treated and untreated breast cancer cells. Finally, breast cancer cells overexpressing TGF beta 2 were constructed, and the effect of TGF beta 2 on the migration and invasion of ezetimibe-treated breast cancer cells was examined. Our results show that ezetimibe treatment of breast cancer cells inhibited cell migration, invasion, and EMT, and it significantly suppressed the expression of TGF beta 2. Overexpression of TGF beta 2 reversed the inhibitory effect of ezetimibe on the migration and invasion of breast cancer cells. Taken together, our results suggest that ezetimibe might be a potential candidate for the treatment of breast cancer metastasis.