Conditional ablation of TGF-β signaling inhibits tumor progression and invasion in an induced mouse bladder cancer model

The role of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) signaling in cancer progression is still under debate. To determine the function of TGF-beta signaling in bladder cancer progression, we conditionally knocked out the Tgfbr2 in mouse model after a N-butyl-N-4-hydroxybutyl Nitrosamine induced bladder carcinogenesis. We found the ablation of TGF-beta signaling could inhibit the cancer cell proliferation, cancer stem cell population and EMT, hence suppressed the invasive cancer progression, which is similar with the result of TGF-beta receptor I inhibitor treatment. These findings recognize the roles and mechanisms of TGF-beta signaling in bladder cancer progression in vivo for the first time.