Reddy Ramakkamma Aishwarya, Varshini Magham Sai, Kumar Raman Suresh
Department of Pharmaceutics, JSS College of Pharmacy, Ooty, India.
Department of Pharmacology, JSS College of Pharmacy, Ooty, India.
Recent Pat Anticancer Drug Discov. 2025;20(1):26-44. doi: 10.2174/0115748928251754230922095544.
The development of cancer has been a multistep process involving mutation, proliferation, survival, invasion, and metastasis. Of all the characteristics of cancer, metastasis is believed to be the hallmark as it is responsible for the highest number of cancer-related deaths. In connection with this, Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), that has a role in metastasis, are one of the novel therapeutic targets. MMPs belong to the family of zinc-dependent endopeptidases and are capable of degrading the components of the extracellular matrix (ECM). The role of MMPs in ECM remodeling includes tissue morphogenesis, uterine cycling, growth, tissue repair, and angiogenesis. During pathological conditions, MMPs play a critical role in the excessive degradation of ECM which includes arthritis, tumour invasion, tumour metastasis, and several other autoimmune disorders. Moreover, they are believed to be involved in many physiological aspects of the cell, such as proliferation, migration, differentiation, angiogenesis, and apoptosis. It is reported that dysregulation of MMP in a variety of cancer subtypes have a dual role in tumour growth and metastasis processes. Further, multiple studies suggest the therapeutic potential of targeting MMP in invading cancer. The expression of MMP-2 correlates with the clinical characteristics of cancer patients, and its expression profile is a new diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for a variety of human diseases. Hence, manipulating the expression or function of MMP-2 may be a potential treatment strategy for different diseases, including cancers. Hence, the present review discusses the therapeutic potential of targeting MMP in various types of cancers and their recent patents.
癌症的发展是一个多步骤过程，涉及突变、增殖、存活、侵袭和转移。在癌症的所有特征中，转移被认为是标志，因为它导致了与癌症相关的最高死亡人数。与此相关的是，在转移中起作用的基质金属蛋白酶（MMPs）是新型治疗靶点之一。MMPs属于锌依赖性内肽酶家族，能够降解细胞外基质（ECM）的成分。MMPs在ECM重塑中的作用包括组织形态发生、子宫周期、生长、组织修复和血管生成。在病理条件下，MMPs在ECM的过度降解中起关键作用，这包括关节炎、肿瘤侵袭、肿瘤转移和其他几种自身免疫性疾病。此外，它们被认为参与细胞的许多生理方面，如增殖、迁移、分化、血管生成和凋亡。据报道，多种癌症亚型中MMP的失调在肿瘤生长和转移过程中具有双重作用。此外，多项研究表明靶向MMP在侵袭性癌症中的治疗潜力。MMP-2的表达与癌症患者的临床特征相关，其表达谱是多种人类疾病的新诊断和预后生物标志物。因此，操纵MMP-2的表达或功能可能是包括癌症在内的不同疾病的潜在治疗策略。因此，本综述讨论了靶向MMP在各种类型癌症中的治疗潜力及其近期专利。
