• BMB Reports
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.825-831
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• 2007

Tumor cell invasion and metastasis are often associated with matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), among which MMP-2 and MMP-9 are of central importance. We previously showed that H-Ras, but not N-Ras, induced invasion of MCF10A human breast epithelial cells in which the enhanced expression of MMP-2 was involved. MMP-2 is produced as a latent pro-MMP-2 (72 kDa) to be activated resulting the 62 kDa active MMP-2. The present study investigated if H-Ras and/or N-Ras induces pro-MMP-2 activation of MCF10A cells when cultured in two-dimensional gel of type I collagen. Type I collagen induced activation of pro-MMP-2 only in H-Ras MCF10A cells but not in N-Ras MCF10A cells. Induction of active MMP-2 by type I collagen was suppressed by blocking integrin ${\alpha}2$, indicating the involvement of integrin signaling in pro-MMP-2 activation. Membrane-type (MT)1-MMP and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-2 were up-regulated by H-Ras but not by N-Ras in the type I collagen-coated gel, suggesting that H-Ras-specific up-regulation of MT1-MMP and TIMP-2 may lead to the activation of pro-MMP-2. Since acquisition of pro-MMP-2 activation can be associated with increased malignant progression, these results may help understanding the mechanisms for the cell surface matrix-degrading potential which will be crucial to the prognosis and therapy of breast cancer metastasis.

• BMB Reports
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.60-66
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• 1999

Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2; 72-kDa gelatinase; 72-kDa type IV collagenase; gelatinase A) plays an important role in normal physiological processes and in many pathologic processes such as arthritis and metastasis of cancer. Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-2 (TIMP-2) binds to proMMP-2 or mature MMP-2 at a 1:1 ratio and inhibits the catalytic activity of MMP-2. We demonstrated that the baculovirus/insect cell system does not have TIMP-2 activity. The human proMMP-2 free of TIMP-2 was expressed in the expression system and purified by one-step affinity chromatography using gelatin-Sepharose. The free proMMP-2 was autoactivated to the mature MMP-2 and autodegraded into smaller molecular weight forms in the absence of external activator. The activation and autodegradation of the proMMP-2 was much more rapid in the presence of 4-aminophenylmercuric acetate (APMA). Addition of TIMP-2 inhibits both APMA-induced activation and autodegradation of the free proMMP-2. However, an increasing concentration of TIMP-2 more readily inhibited activation of the free proMMP-2 than autodegradation. These results demonstrate that TIMP-2 plays roles in inhibition of both activation and autodegradation of the free proMMP-2 in addition to inhibition of the catalytic activity of MMP-2.

• BMB Reports
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• v.41 no.12
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• pp.858-862
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• 2008

Membrane-type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) is a zinc-dependent proteinase found in cholesterol-rich lipid rafts on the plasma membrane. MT1-MMP hydrolyzes extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, activates pro-matrix metalloproteinase-2 (proMMP-2) and plays an important role in ECM remodeling, cancer cell migration and metastasis. The role of caveolin-1, an integral protein of caveolae, in the activation of MT1-MMP remains largely unknown. Here, we show that the expression of caveolin-1 attenuates the activation of proMMP-2, reduces proteolytic cleavage of ECM and inhibits cell migration. We utilized the cytoplasmic tail domain deletion (${\Delta}CT$) or the E240A mutant of MT1-MMP. Co-expression of caveolin-1 with the wild-type or the ${\Delta}CT$ MT1-MMP decreased the proMMP-2 activation and inhibited collagen degradation and cell migration. Caveolin-1 had no effect on the catalytically inert E240A MT1-MMP. Our findings suggest that caveolin-1 is essential in the down-regulation of MT1-MMP activity by promoting internalization from the cell surface.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.288-292
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• 2009

Interactions between tumor cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM) strongly influence tumor development, affecting cell survival, proliferation and migration. Fibronectin, a major component of ECM, has been shown to interact with integrins especially the ${\alpha}5{\beta}1$ integrin. Cell invasion and metastasis are often associated with matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) which are capable of digesting the different components of the ECM and basement membrane. MMP-2 is produced as a latent pro-MMP-2 (72 kDa) to be activated, resulting the 62 kDa active MMP-2. In this study, we investigated the effect of fibronectin on activation of pro-MMP-2 and the cellular invasiveness in H-Ras-transformed MCF10A human breast epithelial cells. Here we show that fibronectin induces activation of pro-MMP-2 and up-regulation of MT1-MMP and TIMP-2 in H-Ras MCF10A cells. These results demonstrate that H-Ras MCF10A cells secrete high levels of active MMP-2 when cultured with fibronectin, suggesting a possible interaction between the ECM network and H-Ras MCF10A cells to generate active MMP-2 which is important for proteolysis and ECM remodeling. Invasive and migratory abilities of H-Ras MCF10A cells were enhanced by fibronectin. Fibronectin up-regulated the expression of ${\beta}1$ integrin which may play a role in cellular responses exerted by fibronectin. Since acquisition of pro-MMP-2 activation can be associated with increased malignant progression, this study provides a mechanism for the cell surface-matrix degrading effect of fibronectin which will be crucial to breast cell invasion and migration.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.79-83
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• 2013

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been known to affect to cell migration, proliferation, morphogenesis and apoptosis by degrading the extracellular matrix. In the previous studies, undifferentiated mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) were successfully proliferated inside the extracellular matrix (ECM) analog-conjugated three-dimensional (3D) poly ethylene glycol (PEG)-based hydrogel. However, there is no report about MMP secretion in ESCs, which makes it difficult to understand and explain how ESCs enlarge space and proliferate inside 3D PEG-based hydrogel constructed by crosslinkers containing MMP-specific cleavage peptide sequence. Therefore, we investigated what types of MMPs are released from undifferentiated ESCs and how extracellular signals derived from various niche conditions affect MMP expression of ESCs at the transcriptional level. Results showed that undifferentiated ESCs expressed specifically MMP2 and MMP3 mRNAs. Transcriptional up-regulation of MMP2 was caused by the 3D scaffold, and activation of integrin inside the 3D scaffold upregulated MMP2 mRNAs synergistically. Moreover, mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) on 2D matrix and 3D scaffold induced upregulation of MMP3 mRNAs, and activation of integrins through conjugation of extracellular matrix (ECM) analogs with 3D scaffold upregulated MMP3 mRNAs synergistically. These results suggest that successful proliferation of ESCs inside the 3D PEG-based hydrogel may be caused by increase of MMP2 and MMP3 expression resulting from 3D scaffold itself as well as activation of integrins inside the 3D PEG-based scaffold.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.64-72
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• 2021

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is likely to metastasize to other organs, and is often resistant to conventional chemotherapies. Thymoquinone (TQ), a phytochemical derived from the seeds of Nigella sativa, has been shown to inhibit migration and metastasis in various cancers. In this study, we assessed the effect of TQ on the migratory activity of human RCC Caki-1 cells. We found that treatment with TQ reduced the proteolytic activity of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in Caki-1 cells. TQ significantly repressed prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production, its EP2 receptor expression as well as the activation of Akt and p38, the wellknown upstream signal proteins of MMP-9. In addition, treatment with butaprost, a PGE2 agonist, also induced MMP-9 activity and migration/invasion in Caki-1 cells. Moreover, pharmacological inhibitors of PI3K/Akt and p38 remarkably attenuated butaprost-induced Caki-1 cell migration and invasion, implying that activation of PI3K/Akt and p38 is a bridge between the PGE2-EP2 axis and MMP-9-dependent migration and invasion. Taken together, these data suggest that TQ is a promising anti-metastatic drug to treat advanced and metastatic RCC.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2004

In chronic airway inflammatory diseases such as asthma and chronic bronchitis, it has been suggested that matrix metalloproteinases secreted from infiltrating neutrophil contribute the pathogenesis of the disease and have been a focus of intense investigation. We report here that hamster tracheal surface epithelial goblet cells (HTSE cells) produce matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2). Matrix metalloproteinase activities were investigated using [$^3H$]collagen-digestion assay and gelatin zymography. The subtype of matrix metalloproteinases expressed from HTSE cells was MMP-2 (gelatinase A), which was determined by Western blot with various subtype selective anti-matrix metalloproteinase antibodies. The MMP-2 and TIMP-2 cDNAs from HTSE cells were partially cloned by RT-PCR and they reveal more than 90% of sequence homology with those from human, rat and mouse. The collagenolytic activity was increased with the secretory differentiation of the HTSE cell and it was found that zymogen activation was responsible for the increased MMP-2 activity in HTSE cells. The results from the present study suggest that the metaplastic secretory differentiation of airway goblet cells may affect chronic airway inflammatory process by augmenting the zymogen activation of MMP-2.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.569-575
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• 1998

One of the most frequent dejects in human cancer is the uncontrolled activation of the ms-signaling pathways. Significant evidence has accumulated to directly implicate members of the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in tumor invasion and metastasis formation. We have previously shown that MMP-9 expression was significantly enhanced in the ras-tranfected HT1080 human fibrosarcoma cells at the mRNA level. In the present study, we investigated the roles of MMP-2 and -9 on the H-ras-induced invasive phenotypes of MCF 10A human breast epithelial cells and HT 1080 human fibrosarcoma cells. We show that H-ras is able to induce or enhance a signaling pathway leading to the enhancement of an invasive phenotype in both MCF10A and HT1080 cells as determined by matrigel invasion assay. We then examined the effect of H-ras activation on the expression of MMP-2 and -9 by measuring enzymatic activities and mRNA levels. Our data clearly demonstrated that H-ras prominently induces expression of MMP-2 in MCF10A cells, while it efficiently up regulates MMP-9 in HT1080 cells. Taken together, these findings suggest that the correlation between ras-mediated invasiveness and enhanced expression of MMPs may be cell type-specific: MMP-9 is closely associated with the invasive phenotype induced by ras activation in fibrosarcoma cells, whereas MMP-2 is more likely associated with it in epithelial cells.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.636-642
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• 2007

Background: CpG DNA plays an important role in immune cell function. This study examined whether the temporal control of toll-like receptor (TLR)9 by CpG DNA can regulate the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9(MMP-9). Methods and materials: Macrophages were cultured in the presence of 10% FBS. For the various MMP genes analysis, RT-PCR and real-time PCR were performed. In addition, zymography assay performed for the MMP activity. The phosphorylation assay did for the ERK1/2 and NF${\kappa}B$ activation, and luciferase promoter assay was for the NF${\kappa}B$ activity. Results: CpG DNA induced the mRNA expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, and MMP-13, but not of MMP-7, MMP-8, and MMP-12, in a time-dependent manner. Especially, the mRNA expression of MMP-9 was strongly induced by CpG DNA using real-time RT-PCR. The TLR9 inhibitor, chloroquine, suppressed CpG DNA-induced MMP-9 expression and its activity. Moreover, CpG DNA induced the phosphorylation of ERK and the inhibition of ERK by U0126 suppressed CpG DNA-induced MMP-9 expression and its activity. CpG DNA stimulated $I{\kappa}B-{\alpha}$ degradation and luciferase activity. In addition, pretreatment of SN-50, the inhibitor of NF${\kappa}B$, strongly blocked the CpG DNA-induced MMP-9 expression and activity. Conclusion: These observations suggest that CpG DNA may play important roles in the activation of macrophages by regulating the production of MMP-9 via the sequential TLR9-ERK-NF${\kappa}B$ signaling pathway.

• BMB Reports
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.484-487
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• 1996

The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are members of a unique family of proteolytic enzymes that degrade components of the extracellular matrix. Significant evidence has accumulated to directly implicate members of the MMPs in tumor invasion and metastasis formation. To investigate the correlation between ras oncogene and MMP gene expression in various tumor cells, we detected mRNAs for the ras, MMP-2 and MMP-9 (72 kD and 92 kD type IV collagenases, respectively) genes in nine human tumor cell lines. The ras gene was expressed in seven cell lines; MMP-2 in three; MMP-9 in two cell lines tested. There was no direct correlation between the ras oncogene and MMP expression. A clear difference in the mRNA expression between MMP-2 and MMP-9 was observed among the cell lines. As an approach to study the effect of the ras oncogene on metastasis, we examined the expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in HT1080 cells transfected with the v-H-ras gene. MMP-9 expression was Significantly enhanced in the ras-transfected HT1080 cells compared with the nontransfectants while ras transfection did not affect the expression of MMP-2. These results suggest the possible inducing effect of the ras oncogene on the metastasis by activation of the MMP-9 gene in HT1080.