Mott Joni D, Werb Zena
Life Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2004 Oct;16(5):558-64. doi: 10.1016/j.ceb.2004.07.010.
Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are endopeptidases that contribute to growth, development and wound healing as well as to pathologies such as arthritis and cancer. Until recently, it has been thought that MMPs participate in these processes simply by degrading extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules. However, it is now clear that MMP activity is much more directed and causes the release of cryptic information from the ECM. By precisely cleaving large insoluble ECM components and ECM-associated molecules, MMPs liberate bioactive fragments and growth factors and change ECM architecture, all of which influence cellular behavior. Thus, MMPs have become a focal point for understanding matrix biology.
基质金属蛋白酶(MMPs)是一种内肽酶,它有助于生长、发育和伤口愈合,同时也参与诸如关节炎和癌症等病理过程。直到最近,人们一直认为MMPs仅通过降解细胞外基质(ECM)分子来参与这些过程。然而,现在很清楚的是,MMP活性的指向性更强,会导致ECM中隐藏信息的释放。通过精确切割大的不溶性ECM成分和与ECM相关的分子,MMPs释放生物活性片段和生长因子,并改变ECM结构,所有这些都会影响细胞行为。因此,MMPs已成为理解基质生物学的一个焦点。