DeClerck Y A, Laug W E
Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, CA 90027-6016, USA.
Enzyme Protein. 1996;49(1-3):72-84. doi: 10.1159/000468617.
Several classes of extracellular matrix (ECM)-degrading proteases have been shown to play an important role in tumor invasion and metastasis. Among them, the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and the plasminogen activator (PA)-plasmin system have been the focus of numerous studies. However, few of those have examined the interaction of these two classes of proteases during tumor progression and their specific roles in this complex process have remained unclear. In this article, comparative information on the structure, function, and regulation of these two classes of proteases is reviewed and their interaction on various levels is discussed. This review shows that MMPs and the PA-plasmin system closely cooperate to achieve optimal degradation of the ECM during the invasive and metastatic process.
几类细胞外基质（ECM）降解蛋白酶已被证明在肿瘤侵袭和转移中发挥重要作用。其中，基质金属蛋白酶（MMPs）和纤溶酶原激活物（PA）-纤溶酶系统一直是众多研究的焦点。然而，很少有研究考察这两类蛋白酶在肿瘤进展过程中的相互作用，它们在这一复杂过程中的具体作用仍不清楚。本文综述了这两类蛋白酶在结构、功能和调节方面的比较信息，并讨论了它们在各个层面上的相互作用。这篇综述表明，MMPs和PA-纤溶酶系统在侵袭和转移过程中密切合作，以实现对ECM的最佳降解。
