Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.4.24.3 (collagenase)
 18,340 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Tissues from seventy-one patients were obtained within one-half hour of biopsy, mastectomy, or reduction mammoplasty and processed for scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Epithelial structures were detected by supravital staining with methylene blue and isolated by microdissection. Mammary lobules and ductules required bacterial collagenase digestion to remove the covering stroma for optimal visualization. Major histopathological categories were compared and correlated with the characteristics observed with methylene blue supravital staining and light microscopy and/or transmission electron microscopy as a function of surface features revealed by SEM. Mammary ducts can be readily distinguished from ductules and lobules by their characteristic surface epithelium. Duct epithelium undergoes a variety of changes in fibrocystic disease (FCD) and in carcinoma. Both apocrine and merocrine secretory activity was observed in the surface epithelium. Proliferation of both epithelial and stromal elements was observed in benign fibroadenomata. Intraductal carcinomas were distinguished by their relative lack of surface microvilli. SEM offers a practical tool in the potential identification of premalignant cells of the human breast epithelium.
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PMID:Diseases of the human breast: selective isolation and exposure of epithelia and their correlative surface features and histopathology. 23 May 74

Invasive growth requires degradation of extracellular matrix. Altered expression of matrix degrading enzymes may indicate an increased potential for invasive growth. We determined the expression patterns of matrix-metalloproteinases (MMP)-1, -2, and -3 and of the tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP)-1 and -2 by in situ hybridization with isotopically labeled RNA probes in normal breast tissue (n=6), fibrocystic disease (n=20), five cases of which contained radial scars, lobular carcinoma in situ (CLIS; n=5), ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS; n=9) and invasive carcinomas (n=24). Only a few cells displayed MMP-1- and MMP-2-specific labeling in normal breast tissue and fibrocystic disease. Noninvasive ductal carcinomas showed elevated MMP-2 transcript levels in peritumor stromal cells in the absence of significant MMP-1 specific signals. In general, compared with adjacent normal breast tissue, a gradual increase of MMP-2 was found in noninvasive to invasive cancers. Invasive ductal and lobular carcinomas displayed co-expression of MMP-1 and MMP-2 by stromal cells, mainly of the invasion front, with high signal intensity particularly in high-grade invasive carcinomas. Tumor cells and peritumor stroma showed low MMP-3 transcript levels, especially in medullary carcinomas. TIMP-1 and -2 transcript levels were increased in invasive carcinomas correlating with the histological grade. These RNA expression patterns suggest an increased invasive potential in breast carcinomas even prior to histologically overt invasive growth.
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PMID:Matrix-metalloproteinases 1, 2, and 3 and their tissue inhibitors 1 and 2 in benign and malignant breast lesions: an in situ hybridization study. 1062 98