Rooprai H K, McCormick D
Department of Neuropathology, Institute of Psychiatry, London, U.K.
Anticancer Res. 1997 Nov-Dec;17(6B):4151-62.
Proteases such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), cysteine- and serine-proteinases are capable of degrading extracellular matrix and basement membranes and have been implicated in human brain tumours. MMPs are a homologous family of zinc-dependent proteases. Within this group, attention has been focused on the gelatinases (MMP-2 and MMP-9) which are thought to play an important role in tumour progression. The cysteine proteinases which have received most attention in relation to tumour progression are cathepsin B (CB) and to a lesser extent cathepsin L (CL). Among the serine proteinases, urokinase plasminogen activator and its receptor have been the subject of much investigation. In the present review, evidence from current literature on the possible role or significance of serine- and cysteine-proteinases and MMPs and their inhibitors in human brain tumours is discussed with special reference to gliomas. Although direct evidence is reported for MMPs and serine proteinases to support their role in glioma invasion, much of the evidence for the involvement of cysteine proteinases remains circumstantial.
诸如基质金属蛋白酶（MMPs）、半胱氨酸蛋白酶和丝氨酸蛋白酶等蛋白酶能够降解细胞外基质和基底膜，并且与人类脑肿瘤有关。MMPs是锌依赖性蛋白酶的同源家族。在这一组中，注意力集中在明胶酶（MMP-2和MMP-9）上，它们被认为在肿瘤进展中起重要作用。与肿瘤进展关系最受关注的半胱氨酸蛋白酶是组织蛋白酶B（CB），其次是组织蛋白酶L（CL）。在丝氨酸蛋白酶中，尿激酶型纤溶酶原激活剂及其受体一直是大量研究的对象。在本综述中，结合当前文献讨论了丝氨酸蛋白酶、半胱氨酸蛋白酶、MMPs及其抑制剂在人类脑肿瘤中的可能作用或意义的证据，特别提及了胶质瘤。虽然有直接证据表明MMPs和丝氨酸蛋白酶在胶质瘤侵袭中起作用，但许多关于半胱氨酸蛋白酶参与的证据仍然是间接的。
