Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.4.24.17 (MMP-3)
 3,419 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Extracellular matrix (ECM) plays an important role in the maintenance of mammary epithelial differentiation in culture. We asked whether changes in mouse mammary specific function in vivo correlate with changes in the ECM. We showed, using expression of beta-casein as a marker, that the temporal expression of ECM-degrading proteinases and their inhibitors during lactation and involution are inversely related to functional differentiation. After a lactation period of 9 d, mammary epithelial cells maintained beta-casein expression up to 5 d of involution. Two metalloproteinases, 72-kD gelatinase (and its 62-kD active form), and stromelysin, and a serine proteinase tissue plasminogen activator were detected by day four of involution, and maintained expression until at least day 10. The expression of their inhibitors, the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMP) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, preceded the onset of ECM-degrading proteinase expression and was detected by day two of involution, and showed a sharp peak of expression centered on days 4-6 of involution. When involution was accelerated by decreasing lactation to 2 d, there was an accelerated loss of beta-casein expression evident by day four and a shift in expression of ECM-remodeling proteinases and inhibitors to a focus at 2-4 d of involution. To further extend the correlation between mammary-specific function and ECM remodeling we initiated involution by sealing just one gland in an otherwise hormonally sufficient lactating animal. Alveoli in the sealed gland contained casein for at least 7 d after sealing, and closely resembled those in a lactating gland. The relative expression of TIMP in the sealed gland increased, whereas the expression of stromelysin was much lower than that of a hormone-depleted involuting gland, indicating that the higher the ratio of TIMP to ECM-degrading proteinases the slower the process of involution. To test directly the functional role of ECM-degrading proteinases in the loss of tissue-specific function we artificially perturbed the ECM-degrading proteinase-inhibitor ratio in a normally involuting gland by maintaining high concentrations of TIMP protein with the use of surgically implanted slow-release pellets. In a concentration-dependent fashion, involuting mammary glands that received TIMP implants maintained high levels of casein and delayed alveolar regression. These data suggest that the balance of ECM-degrading proteinases and their inhibitors regulates the organization of the basement membrane and the tissue-specific function of the mammary gland.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Coordinated expression of extracellular matrix-degrading proteinases and their inhibitors regulates mammary epithelial function during involution. 151 97

A continuous caseinolytic activity assay has been developed and characterized with trypsin, a serine protease, and transin, a metalloproteinase. Beta-casein labeled with both N-(7-dimethylamino-4-methylcoumarinyl)-maleimide (DACM) and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) is used as the substrate in this assay. The effect of proteolysis of the substrate is a reduction of the intermolecular energy transfer from DACM to FITC. The caseinolytic activity is then monitored by the fluorescence increase. The activities of both proteases obey Michaelis-Menten kinetics with Km = 1.6 +/- 0.2 microM for trypsin and Km = 13.2 +/- 1.9 microM for transin. Protease concentrations as low as 10 ng/mL can be utilized. The pH dependence of the caseinolytic activity has been determined for both enzymes.
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PMID:A continuous fluorescent assay for measuring protease activity using natural protein substrate. 178 89

The extracellular matrix (ECM) is an important regulator of the differentiated phenotype of mammary epithelial cells in culture. Despite the fact that ECM-degrading enzymes have been implicated in morphogenesis and tissue remodeling, there is little evidence for a direct role for such regulation in vivo. We generated transgenic mice that express autoactivated isoforms of the matrix metalloproteinase stromelysin-1, under the control of the whey acidic protein gene promoter, to examine the effect of inappropriate expression of this enzyme. Stromelysin-1 is implicated as the primary player in the loss of basement membrane and loss of function in the mammary gland during involution. The transgene was expressed at low levels in mammary glands of virgin female mice, leading to an unexpected phenotype: The primary ducts had supernumerary branches and showed precocious development of alveoli that expressed beta-casein at levels similar to that of an early- to mid-pregnant gland. Lactating glands showed high levels of transgene expression, with accumulation at the basement membrane, and a decrease in laminin and collagen IV, resulting in a loss of basement membrane integrity; this was accompanied by a dramatic alteration of alveolar morphology, with decreased size and shrunken lumina containing little beta-casein. During pregnancy, expression of endogenous whey acidic protein and beta-casein was reduced in transgenic glands, confirming the observed dependence of milk protein transcription of ECM in mammary epithelial cells in culture. These data provide direct evidence that stromelysin-1 activity can be morphogenic for mammary epithelial cells, inducing hyperproliferation and differentiation in virgin animals, and that its lytic activity can, indeed, disrupt membrane integrity and reduce mammary-specific function. We conclude that the balance of ECM-degrading enzymes with their inhibitors, and the associated regulation of ECM structure, is crucial for tissue-specific gene expression and morphogenesis in vivo.
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PMID:Targeted expression of stromelysin-1 in mammary gland provides evidence for a role of proteinases in branching morphogenesis and the requirement for an intact basement membrane for tissue-specific gene expression. 817 86

Postlactational involution of the mammary gland is characterized by two distinct physiological events: apoptosis of the secretory, epithelial cells undergoing programmed cell death, and proteolytic degradation of the mammary gland basement membrane. We examined the spatial and temporal patterns of apoptotic cells in relation to those of proteinases during involution of the BALB/c mouse mammary gland. Apoptosis was almost absent during lactation but became evident at day 2 of involution, when beta-casein gene expression was still high. Apoptotic cells were then seen at least up to day 8 of involution, when beta-casein gene expression was being extinguished. Expression of sulfated glycoprotein-2 (SGP-2), interleukin-1 beta converting enzyme (ICE) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1 was upregulated at day 2, when apoptotic cells were seen initially. Expression of the matrix metalloproteinases gelatinase A and stromelysin-1 and the serine proteinase urokinase-type plasminogen activator, which was low during lactation, was strongly upregulated in parallel starting at day 4 after weaning, coinciding with start of the collapse of the lobulo-alveolar structures and the intensive tissue remodeling in involution. The major sites of mRNA synthesis for these proteinases were fibroblast-like cells in the periductal stroma and stromal cells surrounding the collapsed alveoli, suggesting that the degradative phase of involution is due to a specialized mesenchymal-epithelial interaction. To elucidate the functional role of these proteinases during involution, at the onset of weaning we treated mice systemically with the glucocorticoid hydrocortisone, which is known to inhibit mammary gland involution. Although the initial wave of apoptotic cells appeared in the lumina of the gland, the dramatic regression and tissue remodeling usually evident by day 5 was substantially inhibited by systemic treatment with hydrocortisone. mRNA and protein for gelatinase A, stromelysin-1 and uPA were weakly induced, if at all, in hydrocortisone-treated mice. Furthermore, mRNA for membrane-type matrix metalloproteinase decreased after hydrocortisone treatment and paralleled the almost complete inhibition of activation of latent gelatinase A. Concomitantly, the gland filled with an overabundance of milk. Our data support the hypothesis that there are at least two distinct phases of involution: an initial phase, characterized by induction of the apoptosis-associated genes SGP-2 and ICE and apoptosis of fully differentiated mammary epithelial cells without visible degradation of the extracellular matrix, and a second phase, characterized by extracellular matrix remodeling and altered mesenchymal-epithelial interactions, followed by apoptosis of cells that are losing differentiated functions.
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PMID:Two distinct phases of apoptosis in mammary gland involution: proteinase-independent and -dependent pathways. 856 29

The matrix-degrading metalloproteinases stromelysin-1, stromelysin-3, and gelatinase A are expressed during ductal branching morphogenesis of the murine mammary gland. Stromelysin-1 expression in particular correlates with ductal elongation, and in situ hybridization and three-dimensional reconstruction studies revealed that stromelysin-1 mRNA was concentrated in stromal fibroblasts along the length of advancing ducts. Transgenic mice expressing an activated form of stromelysin-1 under the control of the MMTV promoter/enhancer exhibited inappropriate alveolar development in virgin females. Ultrastructural analysis demonstrated that the basement membrane underlying epithelial and myoepithelial cells was amorphous and discontinuous compared with the highly ordered basal lamina in control mammary glands. Transgenic mammary glands had at least a twofold increase in the number of cells/unit area and a 1.4-fold increase in the percent of cycling cells by 13 wk of age compared with nontransgenic littermates. In addition, transgenic glands expressed beta-casein mRNA, but not protein, and resembled the proliferative and differentiated state of an animal between 8 and 10 days pregnant. An analysis of metalloproteinase expression in the glands of normal pregnant females demonstrated that the same matrix metalloproteinase family members, including stromelysin-1, were expressed in connective tissue cells surrounding epithelial clusters during the time of lobuloalveolar development. These results suggest that metalloproteinases may assist in remodeling ECM during normal ductal and alveolar branching morphogenesis, and that disruption of the basement membrane by an activated metalloproteinase can affect basic cellular processes of proliferation and differentiation.
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PMID:Matrix metalloproteinases are expressed during ductal and alveolar mammary morphogenesis, and misregulation of stromelysin-1 in transgenic mice induces unscheduled alveolar development. 857 87

An intact basement membrane is essential for the proper function, differentiation and morphology of many epithelial cells. The disruption or remodeling of the basement membrane occurs during normal development as well as in the disease state. To examine the importance of basement membrane during development in vivo, we altered the matrix metalloproteinase and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases balance in mammary gland. Inhibition of matrix metalloproteinase synthesis by glucocorticoids or implants or transgenic overexpression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases -1 delays matrix degradation and the involution process after weaning. The mammary glands from transgenic mice that inappropriately express auto-activating isoforms of stromelysin-1 are both functionally and morphologically altered throughout development. Transgenic mammary glands have supernumerary branches, and show precocious development of alveoli that express beta-casein expression and undergo unscheduled apoptosis during pregnancy. This is accompanied by progressive development of an altered stroma, which becomes fibrotic after postweaning involution, and by development of neoplasias. These data suggest that metalloproteinases and disruption of the basement membrane may play key roles in branching morphogenesis of mammary gland, cell cycle, apoptosis, and stromal fibrosis as well as in induction and progression of breast cancer.
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PMID:Extracellular matrix remodeling and the regulation of epithelial-stromal interactions during differentiation and involution. 873 Nov 99

The role of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in responses of human fibroblasts and vascular endothelial cells to IL-1 was investigated by use of a pyridinyl imidazole compound (SB 203580), which specifically inhibits the enzyme. SB 203580 inhibited (50% inhibitory concentration approximately 0.5 microM) IL-1-induced phosphorylation of heat shock protein 27 (an indicator of p38 MAPK activity) in fibroblasts without affecting the other known IL-1-activated protein kinase pathways (p42/p44 MAPK, p54 MAPK/c-Jun N-terminal kinase and beta-casein kinase). SB 203580 significantly inhibited IL-1-stimulated IL-6, (30 to 50% at 1 microM) but not IL-8 production from human fibroblasts (gingival and dermal) and umbilical vein endothelial cells. IL-1 induction of steady state level of IL-6 mRNA was not significantly inhibited, which is consistent with p38 MAPK regulating IL-6 production at the translational level. SB 203580 strongly inhibited IL-1-stimulated PG production by fibroblasts and human umbilical vein endothelial cells. This was associated with the inhibition of the induction of PGH synthase-2 protein and mRNA. SB 203580 also inhibited the stimulation of collagenase-1 and stromelysin-1 production by IL-1 without affecting synthesis of the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMP)-1. SB 203580 prevented the increase in collagenase-1 and stromelysin-1 mRNA stimulated by IL-1. In a model of cartilage breakdown, short-term IL-1-stimulated proteoglycan resorption and inhibition of proteoglycan synthesis were unaffected by SB 203580, while longer term collagen breakdown was prevented. It is concluded that 1) p38 MAPK plays an important role in the regulation of some, but not all, responses to IL-1, and 2) it is involved in the regulation of mRNA levels of some IL-1-responsive genes.
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PMID:Actions of IL-1 are selectively controlled by p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase: regulation of prostaglandin H synthase-2, metalloproteinases, and IL-6 at different levels. 912 Feb 70

Evidence presented in the accompanying article (Gibbs, D. F., T. P. Shanley, R. L. Warner, H. S. Murphy, J. Varani, and K. J. Johnson. 1999. Role of matrix metalloproteinases in models of macrophage-dependent acute lung injury: evidence for alveolar macrophage as source of proteinases. Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol. 20:1145-1154) implicates alveolar macrophage matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in two models of acute lung inflammation in the rat. As a prerequisite to understanding which specific MMPs might be involved in the injury and how they might function, it was necessary to know the spectrum of enzymes present. To this end, alveolar macrophages were obtained from normal rat lungs by bronchoalveolar lavage, placed in culture with and without various agonists, and assessed by a variety of techniques for MMPs. The identification process involved characterization by gelatin, beta-casein, and kappa-elastin zymography, with confirmation of identity by Western blot/immunoprecipitation. Message levels of detected MMPs were assessed by Northern blot. Rat alveolar macrophages were found to produce a low constitutive level of MMP-2 (72-kD gelatinase A) that was only modestly upregulated following stimulation with phorbol myristate acetate, bacterial lipopolysaccharide, or immunoglobulin A-containing immune complexes. Although control cells were found to produce little or no MMP-9 (92-kD gelatinase B) or MMP-12 (metalloelastase), both enzymes were markedly upregulated upon stimulation. In the same stimulated macrophages there was little activity against type I collagen (associated with MMP-13 [collagenase-3] on the basis of Western blotting), no activity suggestive of stromelysin or matrilysin, and no measurable secretion of the serine proteinases, elastase and cathepsin G. These data demonstrate the ability of rat alveolar macrophages to elaborate certain MMPs under proinflammatory conditions, consistent with their possible involvement in the progression of acute inflammation.
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PMID:Characterization of matrix metalloproteinases produced by rat alveolar macrophages. 1034 Sep 32

We report the discovery, cloning, and characterization of a novel human matrix metalloproteinase 26 (MMP-26) (matrixin) gene, endometase, an endometrial tumor-derived metalloproteinase. Among more than three million expressed sequence tags sequenced, the endometase gene was only obtained from human endometrial tumor cDNA library. Endometase mRNA was expressed specifically in human uterus, not in other tissues/cells tested, e.g. testis, heart, brain, lungs, liver, thymus, and melanoma G361. Endometase protein has a signal peptide, a propeptide domain, and a catalytic domain with a unique "cysteine switch" propeptide sequence, PHCGVPDGSD, and a zinc-binding motif, VATHEIGHSLGLQH. Endometase is 43, 41, 41, and 39% identical to human metalloelastase, stromelysin, collagenase-3, and matrilysin, respectively. The zymogen was expressed and isolated from Escherichia coli as inclusion bodies with a molecular mass of 28 kDa. The identity and homogeneity of the recombinant protein was confirmed by protein N-terminal sequencing, silver stain, and immunoblot analyses. The pro-enzyme was partially activated during the folding process. Endometase selectively cleaved type I gelatin and alpha(1)-proteinase inhibitor; however, it did not digest collagens, laminin, elastin, beta-casein, plasminogen, soybean trypsin inhibitor, or Bowman-Birk inhibitor. It hydrolyzed peptide substrates of matrixins and tumor necrosis factor-alpha converting enzyme. Endometase may selectively cleave extracellular matrix proteins, inactivate serpins, and process cytokines.
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PMID:Identification and characterization of human endometase (Matrix metalloproteinase-26) from endometrial tumor. 1080 41