Human epithelial-type ovarian tumour marker beta-2-microglobulin is regulated by the TGF-β signaling pathway.

Background Beta-2-microglobulin (B2M), a light chain subunit of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I complex, has been implicated in tumorigenesis. However, whether it is expressed in different epithelial-type ovarian tumours remains unknown. This study was performed to examine the expression of B2M in different histopathological types of ovarian tumours, to explore the function of B2M in ovarian cancer (OC) cells and to investigate the mechanisms underlying the regulation of B2M by the TGF-β signaling pathway.