Contribution of matrilysin (MMP-7) to the metastatic pathway of human colorectal cancers

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIM Matrilysin is one of the matrix metalloproteinases that has a critical role in tumour invasion, and is often expressed in gastrointestinal cancers. The aim of this study was to examine the role of matrilysin in metastasis of human colorectal cancers. PATIENTS (SUBJECTS)/METHODS The relation between matrilysin expression and Dukes’s type was investigated immunohistochemically in 83 surgically resected colorectal cancers, including five with liver metastasis. Moreover, the effects of matrilysin on the in vivo invasive and metastatic potential of colon cancer cells transfected with matrilysin cDNA were examined after subcutaneous injection into SCID mice. RESULTS In 46% of primary and all of metastatic liver tumours, over 10% of cancer cells were stained positively for matrilysin. The expression of matrilysin correlated significantly with the presence of nodal or distant metastases (pCONCLUSIONS Matrilysin showed a correlation with metastasis in a cohort of 83 colorectal cancer patients and marked metastatic potentiation in human colorectal cancer xenografts, indicating that it may play a critical role in the metastatic pathway of colorectal cancers.