Department of Gynecology, The People's Hospital of Guangxi Province, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, 530021, Guangxi, People's Republic of China.
Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2012 Dec;286(6):1537-43. doi: 10.1007/s00404-012-2456-6. Epub 2012 Jul 26.
One of the most important characteristics of ovarian cancer is invasion and metastasis. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are known to play an important role in cancer cell invasion by mediating the degradation of extracellular matrix (ECM). The activities of MMPs are regulated by tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). In this study, we investigated the clinical significance of MMP-2, -7 and -9 and TIMP-1, -2 and -3 expression and MMP-9 functional role in cell invasion and adhesion in ovarian cancer.
RT-PCR was used to determine mRNA expression of MMP-2, -7 and -9 and TIMP-1, -2 and -3 in ovarian tissues; ELISA was used to detect the serum level of MMP-9; RNA interference (RNAi) was performed to determine the function of MMP-9 in cell invasion and adhesion in ovarian cancer cells.
mRNA expression of MMP-2, MMP-7, MMP-9, TIMP-2 and TIMP-3 and serum level of MMP-9 were significantly high in patients with ovarian cancer. MMP-9 expression was significantly high in patients with advanced ovarian cancer and correlated with poor prognosis. The ability of cells for invasion and adhesion was significantly reduced by treatment of cells with MMP-9 siRNA.
Our results suggest that MMP-9 is a potential prognostic factor for ovarian cancer and could be a novel treatment target in ovarian cancer patients.
卵巢癌最重要的特征之一是侵袭和转移。已知基质金属蛋白酶（MMPs）通过介导细胞外基质（ECM）的降解在癌细胞侵袭中发挥重要作用。MMPs 的活性受金属蛋白酶组织抑制剂（TIMPs）的调节。本研究旨在探讨 MMP-2、-7 和 -9 以及 TIMP-1、-2 和 -3 在卵巢癌中的表达及其在细胞侵袭和黏附中的功能作用的临床意义。
采用 RT-PCR 法检测卵巢组织中 MMP-2、-7 和 -9 以及 TIMP-1、-2 和 -3 的 mRNA 表达；采用 ELISA 法检测 MMP-9 的血清水平；采用 RNA 干扰（RNAi）法确定 MMP-9 在卵巢癌细胞侵袭和黏附中的功能。
卵巢癌患者的 MMP-2、MMP-7、MMP-9、TIMP-2 和 TIMP-3 的 mRNA 表达以及 MMP-9 的血清水平均显著升高。晚期卵巢癌患者 MMP-9 表达水平较高，与预后不良相关。用 MMP-9 siRNA 处理细胞可显著降低细胞的侵袭和黏附能力。
本研究结果表明，MMP-9 可能是卵巢癌的一个潜在预后因子，也可能成为卵巢癌患者的一个新的治疗靶点。
