Matrix metalloproteinase-9 is a prognostic marker to predict survival of patients who underwent surgery due to rectal carcinoma

Peptide-Mediated Nanocarriers for Targeted Drug Delivery: Developments and Strategies

Effective drug delivery is essential for cancer treatment. Drug delivery systems, which can be tailored to targeted transport and integrated tumor therapy, are vital in improving the efficiency of cancer treatment. Peptides play a significant role in various biological and physiological functions and offer high design flexibility, excellent biocompatibility, adjustable morphology, and biodegradability, making them promising candidates for drug delivery. This paper reviews peptide-mediated drug delivery systems, focusing on self-assembled peptides and peptide-drug conjugates. It discusses the mechanisms and structural control of self-assembled peptides, the varieties and roles of peptide-drug conjugates, and strategies to augment peptide stability. The review concludes by addressing challenges and future directions.

Characterization of Active MMP9 in Chronic Inflammatory Diseases Using a Novel Anti-MMP9 Antibody

Matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9), a protease implicated in multiple diseases, is secreted as an inactive zymogen and requires proteolytic removal of the pro-domain for activation. The relative levels and functionality of the pro- and active-MMP9 isoforms in tissues are not characterized. We generated a specific antibody that distinguishes an active form of MMP9, F107-MMP9, from the inactive pro-MMP9 isoform. Using multiple in vitro assays and specimen types, we show that F107-MMP9 expression is localized and disease-specific compared with its more abundant parental pro-form. It is detected around sites of active tissue remodeling, including fistulae of inflammatory bowel and dermal fissures in hidradenitis suppurativa, and is expressed by myeloid cells, including macrophages and neutrophils. Together, our findings provide insights into the distribution and potential role of MMP9 in inflammatory diseases.

Expression of MMP-9 decreases metastatic potential of Chondrosarcoma: an immunohistochemical study

Background

Chondrosarcoma is the second most common primary malignant bone tumor. Because of their heterogeneity, with differences in invasive and metastatic behavior, it is important to identify biological markers that will allow for a more accurate estimation of prognosis in patients with these tumors.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) play a crucial role in tumor progression, invasion and metastasis. The mechanism of tumor progression dependent of MMPs is complex and influences malignant transformation, angiogenesis and tumor growth at the primary and metastatic sites. The purpose of this study was to investigate immunohistochemicaly the influence of MMP-1, MMP-3, MMP-9 and MMP-13 expression on prognostic parameter in chondrosarcoma.

Methods

We investigated tissue samples of 28 patients with chondrosarcoma. Immunohistochemical staining to evaluate the expression of MMP-1, MMP-3, MMP-9 and MMP-13 was performed. Subsequently, the expression level was correlated with metastatic potential, histological grading and overall survival in patients with this neoplasm.

Results

In consideration of semi quantitative scoring 64% of chondrosarcoma were scored as positive for MMP-1, 46% for MMP-3, 61% for MMP-9. The specimens had shown no expression of MMP-13. High expression of MMP-9 was associated with better histological differentiation, decreased metastatic potential and favourable overall survival. No correlation was found for expression of MMP-1, MMP-3 or MMP-13.

Conclusions

MMP-1, MMP-3 and MMP-9 are expressed in chondrosarcoma. Our findings suggest that the expression of MMP-9 is associated with clinical outcome parameters in chondrosarcoma.

Fibroblast surface-associated FGF-2 promotes contact-dependent colorectal cancer cell migration and invasion through FGFR-SRC signaling and integrin αvβ5-mediated adhesion

Carcinoma-associated fibroblasts were reported to promote colorectal cancer (CRC) invasion by secreting motility factors and extracellular matrix processing enzymes. Less is known whether fibroblasts may induce CRC cancer cell motility by contact-dependent mechanisms. To address this question we characterized the interaction between fibroblasts and SW620 and HT29 colorectal cancer cells in 2D and 3D co-culture models in vitro. Here we show that fibroblasts induce contact-dependent cancer cell elongation, motility and invasiveness independently of deposited matrix or secreted factors. These effects depend on fibroblast cell surface-associated fibroblast growth factor (FGF) -2. Inhibition of FGF-2 or FGF receptors (FGFRs) signaling abolishes these effects. FGFRs activate SRC in cancer cells and inhibition or silencing of SRC in cancer cells, but not in fibroblasts, prevents fibroblasts-mediated effects. Using an RGD-based integrin antagonist and function-blocking antibodies we demonstrate that cancer cell adhesion to fibroblasts requires integrin α_vβ₅. Taken together, these results demonstrate that fibroblasts induce cell-contact-dependent colorectal cancer cell migration and invasion under 2D and 3D conditions in vitro through fibroblast cell surface-associated FGF-2, FGF receptor-mediated SRC activation and α_vβ₅ integrin-dependent cancer cell adhesion to fibroblasts. The FGF-2-FGFRs-SRC-α_vβ₅ integrin loop might be explored as candidate therapeutic target to block colorectal cancer invasion.

Selective Allosteric Inhibition of MMP9 Is Efficacious in Preclinical Models of Ulcerative Colitis and Colorectal Cancer

Expression of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) is elevated in a variety of inflammatory and oncology indications, including ulcerative colitis and colorectal cancer. MMP9 is a downstream effector and an upstream mediator of pathways involved in growth and inflammation, and has long been viewed as a promising therapeutic target. However, previous efforts to target matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), including MMP9, have utilized broad-spectrum or semi-selective inhibitors. While some of these drugs showed signs of efficacy in patients, all MMP-targeted inhibitors have been hampered by dose-limiting toxicity or insufficient clinical benefit, likely due to their lack of specificity. Here, we show that selective inhibition of MMP9 did not induce musculoskeletal syndrome (a characteristic toxicity of pan-MMP inhibitors) in a rat model, but did reduce disease severity in a dextran sodium sulfate-induced mouse model of ulcerative colitis. We also found that MMP9 inhibition decreased tumor growth and metastases incidence in a surgical orthotopic xenograft model of colorectal carcinoma, and that inhibition of either tumor- or stroma-derived MMP9 was sufficient to reduce primary tumor growth. Collectively, these data suggest that selective MMP9 inhibition is a promising therapeutic strategy for treatment of inflammatory and oncology indications in which MMP9 is upregulated and is associated with disease pathology, such as ulcerative colitis and colorectal cancer. In addition, we report the development of a potent and highly selective allosteric MMP9 inhibitor, the humanized monoclonal antibody GS-5745, which can be used to evaluate the therapeutic potential of MMP9 inhibition in patients.

Matrix metalloproteinases in cancer: their value as diagnostic and prognostic markers and therapeutic targets

Biomarkers are used as tools in cancer diagnostics and in treatment stratification. In most cancers, there are increased levels of one or several members of the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). This is a family of proteolytic enzymes that are involved in many phases of cancer progression, including angiogenesis, invasiveness, and metastasis. It has therefore been expected that MMPs could serve as both diagnostic and prognostic markers in cancer patients, but despite a huge number of studies, it has been difficult to establish MMPs as cancer biomarkers. In the present paper, we assess some of the challenges associated with MMP research as well as putative reasons for the conflicting data on the value of these enzymes as diagnostic and prognostic markers in cancer patients. We also review the prognostic value of a number of MMPs in patients with lung, colorectal, breast, and prostate cancers. The review also discusses MMPs as potential target molecules for therapeutic agents and new strategies for development of such drugs.

Small antibody fusion proteins with complementarity-determining regions and lidamycin for tumor targeting therapy

Gelatinases are overexpressed in several types of maligancies and tumor stromal cells. Lidamycin is an enediyne antitumor antibiotic, which is composed of an apoprotein (LDP) and an active chromophore (AE). It is known that the heavy-chain complementarity-determining region-3 (CDR3) domain of scFv is important in antibody affinity. The aim of this study was to prepare the enediyne-energized fusion proteins with a heavy-chain CDR3 domain of anti-gelatinases scFv and lidamycin, and to evaluate their antitumor efficiency. Fusion proteins comprising the CDR3 domain and the lidamycin apoprotein were generated, and ELISA, immunofluorescence and FACS were used to analyze the binding of the fusion protein with antigen gelatinases. The purified fusion proteins were assembled with the lidamycin chromophore, and the antitumor effects were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. It was found that the CDR3-LDP and CDR3-LDP-CDR3 fusion proteins demonstrated high affinity towards antigen gelatinases. Following stimulation of CDR3-LDP with enediyne, the results of MTT showed potent cytotoxicity towards tumor cells; the IC50 values of CDR3-LDP-AE to HepG2 and Bel-7402 tumor cells were 1.05×10⁻¹¹ and 6.6×10⁻¹⁴ M, respectively. In addition, CDR3-LDP-AE displayed a potent antitumor effect in H22 cell xenografts in mice; the combination of CDR3-LDP (10 mg/kg) and CDR3-LDP-AE (0.25 and 0.5 mg/kg) revealed that the tumor inhibitory rates were 85.2 and 92.7%, respectively (P<0.05 compared with CDR3-LDP-AE). In conclusion, these results suggest that the CDR3-LDP fusion protein and its analog CDR3-LDP-AE may both be promising candidates for tumor targeting therapy.

The behavior of matrix metalloproteinases and their inhibitors in colorectal cancer

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play an important role in the degradation of extracellular matrix components crucial for tumor growth, invasion and metastasis. MMPs are controlled by natural inhibitors called tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). We and others have demonstrated that MMPs and TIMPs are especially important in the process of tumor invasion, progression and the metastasis of colorectal cancer (CRC). It has been proposed that MMPs and TIMPs might play a part not only in tumor invasion and initiation of metastasis but also in carcinogenesis from colorectal adenomas. Several recent studies demonstrated that high preoperative serum or plasma MMP-2, MMP-9 and TIMP-1 antigen levels are strong predictive factors for poor prognosis in patients with CRC and their determination might be useful for identification of patients with higher risk for cancer recurrence. MMP-9 and TIMP-1 have significant potential tumor marker impact in CRC. Their diagnostic sensitivity is consistently higher than those of conventional biomarkers. The pharmacological targeting of CRC by the development of a new generation of selective inhibitors of MMPs, that is highly specific for certain MMPs, is a promising and challenging area for the future.

Gelatinases A and B expression in human colorectal cancer in upper Egypt: a clinicopathological study

AIM

Prognosis of colorectal carcinoma depends on many factors, such as age and sex of patient; location; multiplicity; local extent and size of tumor, bowel obstruction, or perforation; as well as tumor microscopic type and grade; vascular and perineural invasion; and nodal and distant metastasis. The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of proteolytic enzymes strongly implicated in tumor invasion and metastasis, hence in tumor prognosis. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression in colorectal tumorigenesis, invasion, and metastasis, hence their prognostic values.

METHOD

Immunohistochemical analysis of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in colorectal cancer cells, an immunohistochemical score based on the intensity of immunoreactivity and proportion of immunoreactive cells that established for each MMP, and correlation of this expression with the established prognostic factors.

RESULTS

MMP-2 was expressed in 81.8% (strong expression in 40%) of cases, and MMP-9 was expressed in 72% (strong expression in 35%) of cases.

CONCLUSIONS

MMP-2 and MMP-9 are widely expressed in colorectal carcinoma, suggesting significant diagnostic and prognostic values in these tumors. Increased levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 protein expression in colorectal carcinoma tissues as compared to normal tissues suggest their association with colorectal tumor invasion and metastasis and that they could be targets for intervention and therapy in colorectal carcinoma.

Antitumor activities of dFv-LDP-AE: An enediyne-energized fusion protein targeting tumor-associated antigen gelatinases

Gelatinases play an important role in tumor growth and metastasis, and overexpression of these molecules is strongly correlated with poor prognosis in a variety of malignant tumors. Lidamycin is an enediyne antitumor antibiotic with potent cytotoxicity. We previously reported that a tandem scFv format (dFv-LDP-AE) showed enhanced binding ability with gelatinases compared with the scFv-lidamycin conjugate (Fv-LDP-AE). In this study, the antitumor activities of dFv-LDP-AE on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. By SDS-PAGE analysis, it was found that partial fusion protein dFv-LDP existed as dimer; the results of ELISA and immunofluorescence demonstrated that the fusion protein dFv-LDP could efficiently bind to hepatoma cells in vitro. The apparent arrest of cell cycle at G2/M phase and induction of apoptosis at nanomole levels indicated that the dFv-LDP-AE was very potent against HCC. In in vivo experiments, dFv-LDP-AE shown enhanced cytotoxic effects compared to those of LDM. Administration at mouse tolerable dosage level, the inhibition rate of tumor growth was 89.5% of dFv-LDP-AE vs. 73.6% of LDM on transplantable H22 in mice (P<0.05) and, 87.3% of dFv-LDP-AE vs. 63.4% of LDM on hepatoma Bel-7402 in athymic mice (P<0.01). Small animal optical imaging showed that the FITC-labeled dFv-LDP preferentially localized in the tumor site in less than 30 min, which demonstrated remarkable tumor-targeting properties. Taken together with the above findings, the enediyne-energized fusion protein dFv-LDP-AE showed potential application as a new agent for therapeutic appications in HCC.

Analysis of the MMP-dependent and independent functions of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 on the invasiveness of breast cancer cells

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are secreted endopeptidases that play an essential role in remodeling the extracellular matrix (ECM). MMPs are primarily active during development, when the majority of ECM remodeling events occurs. In adults, elevated MMP activity has been observed in many pathological conditions such as cancer and osteoarthritis. The proteolytic activity of MMPs is controlled by their natural inhibitors - the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). In addition to blocking MMP-mediated proteolysis, TIMPs have a number of MMP-independent functions including binding to cell surface proteins thereby stimulating signaling cascades. TIMP-2, the most studied member of the family, can both inhibit and activate MMPs directly, as well as inhibit MMP activity indirectly by upregulating expression of RECK, a membrane anchored MMP regulator. While TIMP-2 has been shown to play important roles in breast cancer, we describe how the MMP-independent effects of TIMP-2 can modulate the invasiveness of MCF-7, T47D and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Using an ALA + TIMP-2 mutant which is devoid of MMP inhibition, but still capable of initiating specific cell signaling cascades, we show that TIMP-2 can differentially affect MMP activity and cellular invasiveness in both an MMP dependent and independent manner. More specifically, MMP activity and invasiveness is increased with the addition of exogenous TIMP-2 in poorly invasive cell lines whereas it is decreased in highly invasive cells lines (MDA-MB-231). Conversely, the addition of ALA + TIMP-2 resulted in decreased invasiveness regardless of cell line.

The role of tumour stroma in colorectal cancer invasion and metastasis

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major cause of mortality in western society with a 5-year survival of approximately 50%. Metastasis to the liver and lungs is the principal cause of death and occurs in up to 25% of patients at presentation. Despite advances in available techniques for treating metastases, the majority of patients remain incurable and existing adjuvant therapies such as chemotherapy are only of limited effectiveness. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the metastatic process may allow us to identify those at greatest risk of recurrence and discover new tumour targets to prevent disease progression. It is now apparent that tumour stroma plays an important role in promoting tumour progression. A pronounced desmoplastic reaction was associated with a reduced immune response and has been shown to be an independent poor prognostic indicator in CRC and cancer recurrence. Determining the cause(s) and effect(s) of this stromal response will further our understanding of tumour cell/stromal interactions, and will help us identify prognostic indicators for patients with CRC. This will not only allow us to target our existing treatments more effectively, we also aim to identify novel and more specific therapeutic targets for the treatment of CRC which will add to our current therapeutic options.