Objective  To study the clinical significance and biological function of mitochondrial pyruvate carrier 2 (MPC2) in ovarian cancer.

  Methods  The data available at http://kmplot.com/analysis/ was used to statistically analyze the effect of MPC2 expression on the prognosis of patients with ovarian cancer. Immunohistochemical staining was applied to detect the expression levels of MPC2 in 137 cases of ovarian cancer in Tianjin Medical University Tumor Hospital from 2009 to 2011, and the correlations of MPC2 expression with clinicopathological features were studied using statistical analyses. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazard model were used to assess overall survival of patients with ovarian cancer. Overexpressed MPC2 ovarian cancer cell lines were constructed, and MPC2 roles in biological function were assessed.

  Results  Ovarian cancer patients with lower MPC2 mRNA expression often have a poor prognosis. MPC2 expression correlated significantly with clinical stage, ascite production, and distant metastases (all P < 0.05). In addition, patients with low MPC2 levels showed poor survival (P < 0.01). MPC2 over expression significantly inhibited cell cloning and migration ability.

  Conclusions  Lower MPC2 expression correlated with aggressive clinical features in ovarian cancer and indicated poor rognosis of the patients. MPC2 suppressed ovarian cancer cell proliferation, which might be a potential target for ovarian cancer biotherapy in the future.