OBJECTIVE Metastases and invasion are the main reasons for oncotherapy failure. Momordica cochinchinensis (Mu Bie Zi in Chinese) had been used for a variety of purposes, and shown anti-cancer action. In this article, we focused on effects on regulation of breast cancer cell ZR-75-30 metastases and invasion by extracts of Momordica cochinchinensis seeds (ESMCs). METHODS Effect of ESMCs on ZR-7...

PURPOSE We investigated the effect of sodium hyaluronate (Na-HA) on the expression of gelatinases in a rabbit model with corneal epithelial defects. METHODS Topical administration of Na-HA or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) was carried out in the experimental eyes after surgical removal of the corneal epithelium. At 0, 6, 24, 48, and 72 hours after wounding, mRNA expression of 72 kDa type gel...

OBJECTIVE To analyse the functional activity of the plasminogen activators urokinase (uPA) and tissue type plasminogen activator (tPA) in human synovial membrane, and to compare the pattern of expression between normal, osteoarthritic, and rheumatoid synovium. The molecular mechanisms underlying differences in PA activities between normal and pathological synovial tissues have been further exam...

The roles of the protein-serine/threonine kinase, Akt1, in signaling pathways associated with cell motility and extracellular matrix invasion were examined in the immortalized mouse mammary epithelial cell line, COMMA-1D. COMMA-1D cells were engineered to express the avian leukosis subtype A receptor, tv-a, to permit infection by recombinant avian leukosis virus produced by the replication-comp...

Cathepsin B (EC 3.4.22.1) and other cysteine proteases are synthesized as zymogens, which are processed to their mature forms autocatalytically or by other proteases. Autocatalytic processing was suggested to be a bimolecular process, whereas initiation of the processing has not yet been clarified. Procathepsin B was shown by zymography to hydrolyze the synthetic substrate 7-N-benzyloxycarbonyl...

Accumulating experimental evidence has linked the overproduction of extracellular matrix-degrading metalloproteinases with tumor cell invasion. In the present study one member of the metalloproteinase family, type IV collagenase (M(r) 72,000 gelatinase), is shown to be elevated in the urine of patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. The form of the enzyme in the urine was stud...

MM is a B-cell malignancy mainly characterized by monoclonal expansion of plasma cells in the BM, presence of paraprotein in serum and occurrence of osteolytic bone lesions. MMPs are a family of proteolytic enzymes that can contribute to cancer growth, invasion, angiogenesis, bone degradation and other processes important in the pathogenesis of MM. We investigated MMP-9 production in the 5T33MM...

Vesicles shed by cancer cells are known to mediate several tumor-host interactions. Tumor microenvironment may, in turn, influence the release and the activity of tumor-shed microvesicles. In this study, we investigated the molecular mediators of the pH-dependent proinvasive activity of tumor-shed vesicles. Gelatinase zymography showed increased microvesicle activity of matrix metalloproteinase...

Peptidases are enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of peptide bonds in proteins or peptides. The hydrolysis can be specific or unspecific, leading to highly regulated cleavage of specific peptide bonds, or to complete degradation of proteins to oligopeptides and/or amino acids. Peptidases can be classified as endoor exopeptidases, the latter only act near the ends of the polypeptide chain. End...