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Query: EC:3.4.23.5 (
cathepsin D
)
4,130
document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)
Current research in the area of breast malignancies is focusing on identification of pathogenetic risk factors, chemoprevention, screening policies, local treatment modalities that minimize disfigurement, and improved adjuvant therapeutic and palliative systemic therapies. Although epidemiologic studies have produced contradictory results, oral contraceptive use before age 25 years and before 1st full-term pregnancy appears to increase the breast cancer risk. In need of thorough study is the safest form of estrogen replacement therapy in postmenopause. Screening programs aimed at early detection have been shown to reduce breast cancer mortality by 30% in women 50-69 years of age, but no preventive strategies have been identified for younger and older women. A trend toward breast-conserving primary therapy represents a major shift in this area. As long as the tumor is less than 4 cm in diameter and the resection margins are free of tumor, lumpectomy produces disease-free survival rates comparable to those obtained through total mastectomy. In node-positive patients, hormonal adjuvant systemic therapy is effective in postmenopausal women while chemotherapy is effective in premenopausal women. The data are insufficient to allow recommendations regarding adjuvant treatment of node-negative patients, whose overall survival rate is about 70%. In metastatic breast cancer, tamoxifen is the drug of choice for palliation. Prognostic factors currently under study include oncogene amplification,
urokinase plasminogen activator
level, expression of growth factors and growth factor receptors, proliferation parameters, mutations, and
cathepsin D
levels.
...
PMID:Breast malignancy. 187 98
Using confocal fluorescence microscopy with a monoclonal antibody, we have localized the receptor for
urokinase plasminogen activator
(
uPAR
) in MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells migrating into a reconstituted basement membrane. Patchy and polarized
uPAR
immunoreactivity was found at the cell membrane, and strong staining was found both in the ruffled border or leading edge of the cells and at pseudopodia penetrating into the membrane. Intracellular
uPAR
staining was localized in the paranuclear region and in rounded granule-like structures; some of these were identified as lysosomes by double staining for
uPAR
and the lysosomal enzyme
cathepsin D
. Urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) activity has previously been shown to play a role in migration of cells into basement membranes, and it has been proposed that
uPAR
also is involved in this process. uPA is known to be internalized and degraded after complex formation with the inhibitor PAI-1. Lysosomal
uPAR
immunoreactivity may result from concomitant internalization of the receptor.
...
PMID:Confocal fluorescence microscopy of urokinase plasminogen activator receptor and cathepsin D in human MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells migrating in reconstituted basement membrane. 751 99
The lysosomal protease Cathepsin D and the serine protease
urokinase plasminogen activator
(
uPA
) are suspected to indicate poor prognosis in primary breast carcinoma. We tested Cathepsin D and
uPA
immunohistochemically in 281 surgical specimens of primary ductal infiltrating breast carcinomas. Staining was evaluated, taking intracytoplasmic immunoreactions into account, in tumour cells and tumour infiltrating macrophages. Positivity was established in 48.4% and 58.0% of tissue samples for
cathepsin D
and
uPA
respectively (co-expression: 67.6%). In patients with
cathepsin D
- or
uPA
-positive tumours, relapses were more frequent and disease-free survival was shorter irrespective of nodal status, receptor status or menopausal status, (median observation time 74 months). However, this trend was statistically significant only for
cathepsin D
. With stepwise cox regression analysis, borderline significance (p = 0.07) was calculated for
cathepsin D
only in node-negative patients. The combination of
cathepsin D
with
uPA
measurements did not enhance its prognostic value. Immunohistochemical detection of Cathepsin D could potentially be used to identify patients with poor prognosis in the group of node negative breast cancer patients.
...
PMID:Comparative prognostic value of Cathepsin D and urokinase plasminogen activator, detected by immunohistochemistry, in primary breast carcinoma. 868 92
We have compared by RNA in situ hybridisation on serial cryo-sections the distribution of
cathepsin D
(cathD), stromelysin 3 (strom-3), and
urokinase plasminogen activator
(
UPA
) gene expression in different tissues of human benign and malignant mammary tumors. Cath-D expression was found to be higher in adenocarcinomas compared to non-tumoral glands. The cath-D RNA was located in mammary epithelial cancer cells rather than in fibroblasts, indicating that the cath-D gene was overexpressed in cancer cells, where the corresponding protein determined by immunohistochemical staining had been shown to be accumulated (E Roger et al., Human Pathol 25: 863-871,1994). In contrast strom-3 RNA in adjacent tissue sections used as a control of tissue localisation was mostly expressed in peritumoral fibroblasts rather than in cancer cells confirming previous results of Basset et al. and validating our methodology.
UPA
RNA was detected both in tumor cells and in stromal cells. In benign lesions the 3 protease RNAs were mostly found in epithelial cells. Stromal cells expressed
UPA
RNA in 5 of 7 lesions, cath-D and strom-3 in only one sample. We conclude that in breast cancer patients, cath-D gene expression is increased in epithelial mammary cancer cells at the RNA level as well as at the protein level, suggesting an altered transcriptional regulation. In non malignant lesions, the distribution was different with a predominant distribution in epithelial mammary cells for the 3 protease messenger RNA.
...
PMID:Cellular localisation by in situ hybridisation of cathepsin D, stromelysin 3, and urokinase plasminogen activator RNAs in breast cancer. 886 40
Proteolytic destruction of basement membrane and tumor surrounding is a prerequisite of invasion and metastasis. In 587 frozen samples of malignant and nonmalignant tissue of breast, uterus, vulva, and ovary, levels of
urokinase plasminogen activator
(
uPA
), tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) were examined with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and
cathepsin D
(cath D) with radioimmunoassay. UPA, PAI-1 and cath D were raised in malignant tissue with significantly higher levels in breast cancer (
uPA
, PAI-1) and ovarian cancer (cath D). TPA levels were lower in malignant tissue. In 393 primary breast cancer samples,
uPA
, PAI-1, and cath D were not related to other prognostic factors, whereas tPA levels were significantly raised in prognostic more favorable carcinomas. Over a follow-up period up to 46 months (median 30 months) the log-rank test showed in the whole group of breast cancer patients a significantly higher rate of relapse (p < 0.05) and death (p < 0.001) with tPA levels < 2.5 ng/mg. PAI-1 levels > 3 ng/mg were associated with shorter overall (p < 0.02; p = 0.01), disease-free (p < 0.008; p < 0.01), and metastasis-free (p < 0.04; p = 0.005) survival in all patients and in the node-negative subgroup, respectively. Higher
uPA
and cath D levels were not associated with rate of relapse or death over this follow-up period. The prognostic value of tumor-associated proteases could be of interest also in ovarian and cervical cancer.
...
PMID:Protease levels in breast, ovary, and other gynecological tumor tissues: prognostic importance in breast cancer. 930 48
Low expression of the antimetastatic gene nm23 has been associated with shorter overall survival in breast cancer. To better understand the mechanism(s) of action of this protein, we compared the levels of the nm23 protein in 152 breast cancer samples with other factors known to be involved in metastasis or related to prognosis. There was no significant relationship between either of the nm23 isoforms and
cathepsin D
(Cat-D),
urokinase plasminogen activator
(
uPA
), its inhibitor (PAI-1), steroid hormone receptors or ploidy status. A marginal inverse correlation was observed between per cent S-phase and nm23-H1 expression (r = -0.193, P = 0.047) and a positive correlation was observed between
uPA
receptor (uPAR) and both nm23-H1 (r = 0.263, P = 0.0018) and nm23-H2 (r = 0.230, P = 0.0064). The nm23-H1 gene was transfected into MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells and 12 clones were selected, of which two were characterized extensively. We found no significant differences in Cat-D,
uPA
, PAI-1 or uPAR, as a function of nm23 expression in either the MDA-MB-231 cells or the transfected clones. Compared with the parent cell line, we did observe a dose-dependent decrease in growth factor-stimulated motility and a decrease in metastatic potential in two clones with four- and eightfold elevated nm23-H1 expression, whereas the proliferative activities were similar. We conclude that the decreased metastatic potential might be related to down-regulation of growth factor-stimulated motility.
...
PMID:Relationship of nm23 to proteolytic factors, proliferation and motility in breast cancer tissues and cell lines. 974 88
It is the ability to invade and metastasize that ultimately determines the prognosis in cancer. Comprising one of the key groups of molecules involved in invasion and metastasis are proteases such as
urokinase plasminogen activator
and cathepsins B, D, and L, as well as various metalloproteases. These proteases catalyze degradation of the interstitial matrix and basement membranes, allowing cancer cells to invade locally and metastasize to distant sites. If proteases are directly and causally involved in cancer spread, they have the potential to be new prognostic markers in cancer. One of the best examples of a correlation between high levels of a protease in a primary tumor and poor prognosis is urokinase plasminogen activation in breast cancer. In this malignancy, the
urokinase plasminogen activator
is a strong and independent prognostic marker and may be a marker for axillary node-negative disease. The
urokinase plasminogen activator
may also be a prognostic marker in other cancers such as gastric, colorectal, lung, bladder, cervical, and ovarian cancers. In a number of studies,
cathepsin D
has been shown to be a prognostic factor in breast cancer. However, results with
cathepsin D
, especially when immunocytochemistry is used for its detection, are conflicting. Levels of cathepsin B, cathepsin L, and certain metalloproteases may also supply prognostic data in certain cancers, but results with these proteases are still preliminary.
...
PMID:Proteases as prognostic markers in cancer. 981 10
Tissue remodeling is a key process involved in normal development, wound healing, bone remodeling, and embryonic implantation, as well as pathological conditions such as tumor invasion and metastasis, and angiogenesis. The degradation of the extracellular matrix that is associated with those processes is mediated by a number of families of extracellular proteinases. These families include the serine proteinases, such as the plasminogen-
urokinase plasminogen activator
system and leukocyte elastases, the cysteine proteinases, like
cathepsin D
and L, and the zinc-dependent matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) [1]. Accumulating evidence has highlighted the central role of MMP-driven extracellular matrix remodeling in mammary gland development and breast cancer.
...
PMID:Roles of the matrix metalloproteinases in mammary gland development and cancer. 982 15
Cathepsin B (CB) is a thiol-stimulated protease implicated in cancer invasion and metastasis. Other proteases involved in cancer spread such as urokinase-type plasminogen activator (
uPA
) and
cathepsin D
have previously been shown to be prognostic markers in breast cancer. CB was assayed by ELISA in 193 patients with primary breast cancer. CB levels were significantly higher in both primary and metastatic breast tumors than in fibroadenomas (p = 0.0001). In the primary carcinomas, CB levels showed no significant correlation with either nodal status, tumor size or estrogen receptor (ER) status. Patients with primary breast cancers containing high levels of CB had a significantly shorter disease-free interval (p = 0.01, chi-square = 6.61) and overall survival (p = 0.014, chi-square = 6.08) than patients with low levels of the protease. However, in multivariate analysis, using nodal status, tumor size, ER status and
urokinase plasminogen activator
(
uPA
), CB was not an independent prognostic marker. In contrast, nodal status, ER status and
uPA
were prognostic in multivariate analysis. In conclusion, CB, like certain other proteases implicated in cancer metastasis, correlates with poor outcome in patients with breast cancer. These results thus support the evidence from model systems linking CB to cancer spread. Inhibition of CB expression or activity might therefore be exploited for anti-metastatic therapies.
...
PMID:High levels of cathepsin B predict poor outcome in patients with breast cancer. 1007 87
Proteolytic processes are necessary for normal physiological functions in the body. Failure in the biological control mechanisms of proteolytic activities may cause various diseases, for example, it may enable tumor invasion and metastasis. In the metastatic process, proteolytic enzymes play an important role in mediating passage of the malignant cell through the cell membrane. Tumor cell migration and invasion into the surrounding extracellular matrix is facilitated by a variety of cell surface-associated proteolytic enzymes: matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), cysteine proteases including cathepsins B and L, aspartic protease
cathepsin D
, and serine proteases including plasmin and
urokinase plasminogen activator
(
uPA
). Many of the natural and synthetic inhibitors of the proteases prevent the dissemination of cancer cells and have also inhibitory effect on tumor growth. Thus inhibition of protease activity by low molecular weight inhibitors represents a promising strategy for anticancer and antimetastatic therapy. The review surveys low molecular inhibitors of MMPs,
uPA
and lysosomal proteases.
...
PMID:Inhibitors of proteases as anticancer drugs. 1587 78
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