Murine, but not human, ephrin-B2 can be efficiently cleaved by the serine protease kallikrein-4: implications for xenograft models of human prostate cancer.

•EphB4, its ligand ephrin-B2 and KLK4 are key regulators of human prostate cancer.•Murine ephrin-B2 is identified in silico as a substrate of protease KLK4.•Human KLK4 specifically and efficiently cleaves the ectodomain of mouse ephrin-B2.•Human KLK4 is less efficient in cleaving human ephrin-B2.•KLK4/ephrin-B2 function will differ in murine xenografts vs human prostate cancer.