MT2-MMP expression associates with tumor progression and angiogenesis in human lung cancer.

Abstract

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of important proteolytic enzymes that play an important role in the remodeling of the tumor microenvironment and associate with tumorigenesis and metastasis. We previously reported that membrane type-2 MMP (MT2-MMP) is highly expressed in human esophageal cancer tissues, and its expression level is positively correlated to tumor size and intratumoral angiogenesis. In order to reveal whether MT2-MMP expression is operative in human lung cancer and its underlying physio-pathological role, in the present study, we examined both mRNA and protein expression levels of MT2-MMP in non-small cell lung caner (NSCLC) tissues and in adjacent normal tissues by using real-time RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry respectively, which showed that both MT2-MMP mRNA (P=0.0359) and protein (P<0.0001) expression levels were significantly increased in cancer tissues in contrast to adjacent normal tissues. Moreover, we also found that the MT2-MMP protein level in cancer tissues positively correlated to lymph node metastasis (P=0.0483), tumor stage (P=0.0483), intra-tumoral microvessel density (MVD) (P=0.0445). We have not found statistically significant correlation between MT2-MMP expression and patients' prognoses, but we found that the patients with both higher MT2-MMP protein expression and higher intra-tumoral microvessel density showed better prognoses than that of the patients with either higher MT2-MMP protein expression or higher intra-tumoral microvessel density (P=0.0311). Thus, our data suggest that MT2-MMP expression positively involves in NSCLC, and might play an important role in promoting the tumor progression and intra-tumoral angiogenesis in NSCLC.

• Authors: Lujun Chen, Qi Zhou, Bin Xu, Jian Liu, Liangrong Shi, Danxia Zhu, Changping Wu, Jingting Jiang
• Journal: International journal of clinical and experimental pathology (Int J Clin Exp Pathol) Vol. 7 Issue 6 Pg. 3469-77 ( 2014) ISSN: 1936-2625 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 25031779 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Biomarkers, Tumor
• MMP15 protein, human
• RNA, Messenger
• Matrix Metalloproteinase 15

Topics

• Adult
• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Biomarkers, Tumor (analysis)
• Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung (pathology)
• Disease Progression
• Female
• Humans
• Immunohistochemistry
• Lung Neoplasms (pathology)
• Male
• Matrix Metalloproteinase 15 (analysis, biosynthesis)
• Middle Aged
• Neovascularization, Pathologic (metabolism)
• RNA, Messenger (analysis)
• Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
• Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction