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Introduction: A disintegrin and metallopeptidase with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTSs), whose expression is dysregulated in various cancers, is implicated in cancer development. Herein, we aimed to investigate the functional role of ADAMTS8 in breast cancer (BC) and explore the underlying mechanisms. Methods: The protein expression of ADAMTS8 in BC cell lines and tumor tissues from BC patients was quantified by Western blot. ADAMTS8 overexpression was induced by transfection with pEZ-M90-ADAMTS8 plasmid using lipofectamine 2000. To generate ADAMTS8 stable knockdown cells, MDA-MB-231 cells were transfected with psi-H1-ADAMTS8siRNA plasmids. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, wound-healing assay, transwell assay and flow cytometry assay were employed to analyze the effects of ADAMTS8 on the proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis of BC cells. Chemosensitivity also was assessed using CCK-8 assay. The expressions of β-catenin, MMP-7 and c-Myc were measured by Western blot. Results: Our results showed that ADAMTS8 expression was significantly lower in BC tissues than that in adjacent non-tumor tissues. Overexpression of ADAMTS8 in MDA-MB-453 cells could inhibit the cell proliferation, migration and invasion and promote apoptosis. ADAMTS8 knockdown displayed the reverse effect in MDA-MB-231 cells. Consistently, in vivo data showed that ADAMTS8 overexpression led to a reduction in tumor growth. In addition, chemosensitivity testing in MDA-MB-453 cells transfected with pEZ-M90-ADAMTS8 plasmid indicated that cisplatin inhibited cell growth dramatically. Furthermore, attenuated β-catenin, MMP-7 and c-Myc level was detected after ADAMTS8 overexpression. Conclusion: These results indicate that increased ADAMTS8 expression could modify the progression of BC by inhibiting cell proliferation and invasion while promoting the apoptosis of BC cells. Thus, ADAMTS8 represents a potential therapeutic target for BC therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]