Resumen de Metaloproteinasas, matriz extracelular y cáncer

María Cascales Angosto, Juan Ángel Álvarez Gómez

• The extracellular matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) are involved in physiological and pathological processes, through the cleavage of extracellular matrix (ECM) and non-matrix substrates. MMP are a family of zinc-dependent neutral endopeptidases capable of degrading essentially all matrix components. Endogenous tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP), one kind of MMP inhibitors, reduce the excessive proteolytic ECM degradation. Degradation of ECM is crucial for malignant tumor growth, invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis. A variety of reports describe the correlated changes in MMP and TIMP during the formation of cancer, and also that MMP and TIMP may act as regulators of signaling pathways through the cleavage of non-matrix substrates, including cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors. As certain MMP limit tumor growth, identification of proper MMP in combination with conventional chemotherapy is expected to provide a feasible approach for cancer therapy.