Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.4.21.73 (urokinase-type plasminogen activator)
 10,685 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

During focal cerebral ischemia, matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) can contribute to the loss of microvessel integrity within ischemic regions by degrading the basal lamina. MMP-2 is secreted in latent form (pro-MMP-2), but the activation of pro-MMP-2 in the ischemic territory has not been shown. Immunohistochemical and in situ hybridization studies of the expression of the direct activators of MMP-2, MT1-MMP and MT3-MMP, and the indirect activation system tissue plasminogen activator, urokinase (u-PA), its receptor (u-PAR), and its inhibitor PAI-1 after middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion were undertaken in basal ganglia samples from 26 adolescent male baboons. The expressions of all three MMPs, u-PA, u-PAR, and PA1-1, but not tissue plasminogen activator, were increased from 1 hour after middle cerebral artery occlusion in the ischemic core. mRNA transcripts confirmed the increases in latent MMP-2, u-PA, u-PAR, and PAI-1 antigen very early after middle cerebral artery occlusion. The expression patterns are consistent with secretion of pro-MMP-2 and its activators in the ischemic core, perhaps from separate cell compartments. The rapid and coordinate appearance of pro-MMP-2 and its activation apparatus suggest that in the primate striatum this protease may participate in matrix injury during focal cerebral ischemia.
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PMID:Activation systems for latent matrix metalloproteinase-2 are upregulated immediately after focal cerebral ischemia. 1466 36

Based on a previous report on the effect of a matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitory compound, MMI270, in regulating tumor-induced angiogenesis, as well as recent findings concerning functional correlations among tumor metastasis, angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis, we investigated the anti-metastatic efficacy of MMI270 in a murine model of lymph node metastasis of lung cancer, and analyzed whether this inhibitor could also regulate lymphangiogenesis-related properties of murine lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) and invasive properties of Lewis lung cancer (LLC) cells. The observation that MMI270 led to a significant decrease in the weight of tumor-metastasized lymph nodes of mice led us to test its anti-lymphangiogenic and anti-invasive effects in vitro. Murine LECs were characterized by an in vitro tube formation assay, by semi-quantitative RT-PCR assay to examine the expression of mRNAs for flt-4, Flk-1, Tie-1, Tie-2, CD54/ICAM1, vWF, MMPs and uPA, and by western blotting to confirm the protein expression of flt-4 and CD31/PECAM. This is the first report on the expression of MMP-2, MMP-9 and MT1-MMP in murine LECs, as well as on the inhibition of their enzymatic activity, and of the invasive ability and tube-forming property of LECs by an MMP inhibitor. Furthermore, MMI270 was shown to strongly inhibit the activity of MMP-2 and -9 produced by LLC cells and the invasion of these cells through Matrigel. In summary, the present results indicate that MMI270, apart from its anti-tumor angiogenic application, might be useful as an anti-metastatic drug, on the basis of its downregulatation of both the lymphangiogenesis-related properties of LECs and the invasive properties of LLC cells in vitro.
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PMID:Inhibition of lymphangiogenesis-related properties of murine lymphatic endothelial cells and lymph node metastasis of lung cancer by the matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor MMI270. 1472 Mar 23

Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) is critical for carcinoma progression. In our study, we evaluated the prognostic significance of the major MMP family such as MMP-3, MMP-9, MMP-11 and MT1-MMP at the mRNA in 44 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) that were previously characterized for MMP-7, MMP-1 and MMP-2, and their relation to urokinase system (uPA and uPAR). MT1-MMP, MMP-11 and MMP-2 expressions are closely associated with each other, while MMP-9 and uPAR expressions are inversely associated with the former group. There is no MMP related to clinicopathological factors; however, patients with high MT1-MMP could show worse prognosis, as compared to those with low MT1-MMP expression (p=0.01), as well as MMP-11 did (p=0.02). Both MMP showed clear expression of carcinoma cells by immunohistochemistry. In patients with high MT1-MMP, recurrence was more prominent (23/26: 88.5%) than those with low MT1-MMP (7/18: 38.9%) (p=0.0016). In the 20 cases who died within 3 years, all 15 cases with high MT1-MMP showed initial recurrence of distant metastasis, and the other 5 cases with low MT1-MMP showed locoregional recurrence (p=0.000064). These results could indicate that there is a relevant mechanism of associated expression of clinically significant MMP and that among them, MT1-MMP plays the most critical role in ESCC progression.
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PMID:Differential expression of MMP and uPA systems and prognostic relevance of their expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. 1506 82

Our previous studies demonstrated that a synthetic peptide encompassing residues 185-203 of the noncollagenous (NC1) domain of the alpha3 chain of type IV collagen, named tumstatin, inhibits in vitro melanoma cell proliferation and migration. In the present study, B16F1 melanoma cells were stably transfected to overexpress the complete tumstatin domain (Tum 1-232) or its C-terminal part, encompassing residues 185-203 (Tum 183-232). Tumstatin domain overexpression inhibited B16F1 in vitro cell proliferation, anchorage-independent growth, and invasive properties. For studying the in vivo effect of overexpression, representative clones were subcutaneously injected into the left side of C57BL6 mice. In vivo tumor growth was decreased by -60% and -56%, respectively, with B16F1 cells overexpressing Tum 1-232 or Tum 183-232 compared to control cells. This inhibitory effect was associated with a decrease of in vivo cyclin D1 expression. We also demonstrated that the overexpression of Tum 1-232 or Tum 183-232 induced an in vivo down-regulation of proteolytic cascades involving matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), especially the production or activation of MMP-2, MMP-9, MMP-13, as well as MMP-14. The plasminogen activation system was also altered in tumors with a decrease of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) and tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and a strong increase of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1). Collectively, our results demonstrate that tumstatin or its C-terminal antitumor fragment, Tum 183-232, inhibits in vivo melanoma progression by triggering an intracellular transduction pathway, which involves a cyclic AMP (cAMP)-dependent mechanism.
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PMID:In vivo overexpression of tumstatin domains by tumor cells inhibits their invasive properties in a mouse melanoma model. 1553 Aug 61

In the endometrium, angiogenesis is a physiological process, whereas in most adult tissues neovascularization is initiated only during tissue repair or pathological conditions. Pericellular proteolysis plays an important role in angiogenesis being required for endothelial cell migration, invasion, and tube formation. We studied the expression of proteases by human endometrial microvascular endothelial cells (hEMVECs) and their involvement in the formation of capillary tubes and compared these requirements with those of foreskin MVECs (hFMVECs). Inhibition of urokinase and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) both reduced tube formation in a fibrin or fibrin/collagen matrix. hEMVECs expressed various MMP mRNAs and proteins; in particular MMP-1, MMP-2, and membrane-type (MT)1-, MT3-, and MT4-MMPs. MT3- and MT4-MMP mRNA expressions were significantly higher in hEMVECs than in hFMVECs. Other MT-MMP mRNAs and MMP-9 were hardly detectable. Immunohistochemistry confirmed the presence of MT3-MMP in endothelial cells of endometrial tissue. Overexpression of tissue inhibitor of MMP (TIMP)-1 or TIMP-3 by adenoviral transduction of hEMVECs reduced tube formation to the same extent, whereas only TIMP-3 was able to inhibit tube formation by hFMVECs. Tube formation by hEMVECs was partly inhibited by the presence of anti-MT3-MMP IgG. Thus, in contrast to tube formation by hFMVECs, which largely depends on MT1-MMP, capillary-like tube formation by hEMVECs is, at least in part, regulated by MT3-MMP.
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PMID:Involvement of membrane-type matrix metalloproteinases (MT-MMPs) in capillary tube formation by human endometrial microvascular endothelial cells: role of MT3-MMP. 1553 49

Protease activity promotes the progression and rupture of atherosclerotic plaques. LDL has been described to become enzymatically modified within the vessel wall yielding an atherogenic moiety (E-LDL). We studied the effect of E-LDL on the activation of plasminogen and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in monocytes and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) as well as on MMP activation during cellular interactions. Human monocytes, monocytic MonoMac6 cells and human VSMCs were incubated with human native LDL (n-LDL) or E-LDL for 24 hours. E-LDL in contrast to n-LDL induced substantial activation of the plasminogen activation system as well as of the MMP system in monocytic cells, as measured by enhanced cell surface expression of the urokinase receptor (uPAR),the extracellular matrix metalloproteinase Inducer (EMMPRIN) and the membrane type-1 MMPs (MT1-MMP,MMP-14), as well as by secretion of active uPA, and of MMP-9. Consistently, E-LDL-treated monocytes exhibited increased transmigration through "matrigel", which was specifically abrogated by the MMP inhibitor galardin or the plasmin inhibitor aprotinin. In VSMCs, E-LDL induced MMP-1 and MMP-2 secretion. Moreover, monocyte incubation with supernatants of E-LDL-treated (but not n-LDL-treated) VSMCs strongly induced MMP-9 in monoytes, which was inhibited by blocking mAb anti-TNF-alpha. Together, enzymatical modification of LDL allows a direct activation of MMP expression in monocytes and VSMCs, and indirectly promotes the induction of paracrine, cytokine-mediated intercellular activation processes. There by, E-LDL may contribute to atheroprogression, inflammation and plaque rupture.
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PMID:Plasminogen and matrix metalloproteinase activation by enzymatically modified low density lipoproteins in monocytes and smooth muscle cells. 1584 17

Human trophoblast research relies on a combination of in vitro models, including isolated primary cultures, explant cultures, and trophoblast cell lines. In the present study, we have utilized the rotating wall vessel (RWV) bioreactor to generate a three-dimensional (3-D) model of human placentation for the study of cytotrophoblast (CTB) invasion. The RWV supported the growth of the human CTB cell line SGHPL-4 and allowed for the formation of complex, multilayered 3-D aggregates that were morphologically, phenotypically, and functionally distinct from SGHPL-4 monolayers. The cells cultured three-dimensionally differentiated into an aggressively invasive cell population characterized by the upregulation of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), MMP-3, MMP-9 and urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) secretion and activation. Microarray analysis of the 3-D and 2-D cultured cells revealed increased expression in the 3-D cells of various genes that are known mediators of invasion, including MT1-MMP, PECAM-1 and L-selectin, as well as genes not previously associated with CTB differentiation such as MMP-13 and MT5-MMP. These results were verified by quantitative real-time PCR. These findings suggest that when cultured in 3-D, SGHPL-4 cells closely mimic differentiating in utero CTBs, providing a novel approach for the in vitro study of the molecular mechanisms that regulate CTB differentiation and invasion.
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PMID:Three-dimensional growth of extravillous cytotrophoblasts promotes differentiation and invasion. 1622 20

Pericellular proteases play an important role in angiogenesis and vasculogenesis. They comprise (membrane-type) matrix metalloproteinases [(MT-)MMPs], serine proteases, cysteine cathepsins, and membrane-bound aminopeptidases. Specific inhibitors regulate them. Major roles in initiating angiogenesis have been attributed to MT1-matrix metalloproteinase (MMP), MMP-2, and MMP-9. Whereas MT-MMPs are membrane-bound by nature, MMP-2 and MMP-9 can localize to the membrane by binding to alphavbeta3-integrin and CD44, respectively. Proteases switch on neovascularization by activation, liberation, and modification of angiogenic growth factors and degradation of the endothelial and interstitial matrix. They also modify the properties of angiogenic growth factors and cytokines. Neovascularization requires cell migration, which depends on the assembly of protease-protein complexes at the migrating cell front. MT1-MMP and urokinase (u-PA) form multiprotein complexes in the lamellipodia and focal adhesions of migrating cells, facilitating proteolysis and sufficient support for endothelial cell migration and survival. Excessive proteolysis causes loss of endothelial cell-matrix interaction and impairs angiogenesis. MMP-9 and cathepsin L stimulate the recruitment and action of blood- or bone-marrow-derived accessory cells that enhance angiogenesis. Proteases also generate fragments of extracellular matrix and hemostasis factors that have anti-angiogenic properties. Understanding the complexity of protease activities in angiogenesis contributes to recognizing new targets for stimulation or inhibition of neovascularization in disease.
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PMID:Pericellular proteases in angiogenesis and vasculogenesis. 1646 48

Bone matrix turnover is regulated by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMPs), and the plasminogen activation system, including tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA), urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA), and plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1). We previously demonstrated that 1.0g/cm(2) of compressive force was an optimal condition for inducing bone formation by osteoblastic Saos-2 cells. Here, we examined the effect of mechanical stress on the expression of MMPs, TIMPs, tPA, uPA, and PAI-1 in Saos-2 cells. The cells were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum and with or without continuously compressive force (0.5-3.0g/cm(2)) for up to 24h. The levels of MMPs, TIMPs, uPA, tPA, and PAI-1 gene expression were estimated by determining the mRNA levels using real-time PCR, and the protein levels were determined using ELISA. The expression levels of MMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-14, and TIMP-1 markedly exceeded the control levels at 1.0g/cm(2) of compressive force, whereas the expression levels of MMP-3, MMP-13, TIMP-2, TIMP-3, TIMP-4, tPA, uPA, and PAI-1 markedly exceeded the control levels at 3.0g/cm(2). These results suggest that mechanical stress stimulates bone matrix turnover by increasing these proteinases and inhibitors, and that the mechanism for the proteolytic degradation of bone matrix proteins differs with the strength of the mechanical stress.
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PMID:Effect of compressive force on the expression of MMPs, PAs, and their inhibitors in osteoblastic Saos-2 cells. 1651 40

Glioblastoma multiforme is a primary brain tumor associated with extensive invasion into surrounding brain tissue. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and urokinase plasminogen activation (uPA) system are shown to be involved in tumor invasion as they help in degradation of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and thus assist in the movement of cells. MMP-2 and 9 were shown to be upregulated in gliomas, suggesting their involvement in invasion. Genistein and biochanin A are isoflavones commonly known as phytoestrogens and have some anticancer properties. We hypothesize that these two isoflavones can induce a lowering of tumor invasion by decreasing the activity of matrix degrading enzymes. In this study we investigated the effects of genistein and biochanin A on invasive activity of U87MG cells using the Calbiochem in vitro invasion assay system. Our results suggest that genistein and biochanin A induced a decrease in invasive activity of U87MG cells in a dose-related manner. Genistein also induced a decrease in EGF-stimulated invasion thereby implicating an involvement of EGF-mediated signaling in invasion. Our results also show that treatment of U87MG cells with the two isoflavones induced decreases in the enzymatic activity of MMP-9 and the protein levels of MT1-MMP and uPAR.
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PMID:Inhibition of matrix degrading enzymes and invasion in human glioblastoma (U87MG) cells by isoflavones. 1659 20


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