In breast cancer (BC), elevated levels of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) in tumor tissue have been confirmed as a strong prognostic factor in level-of-evidence-1 studies.
Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) is a diagnostic marker for breast and prostate cancers recommended by American Society for Clinical Oncology and German Breast Cancer Society.
Dual-targeting Wnt and uPA receptors using peptide conjugated ultra-small nanoparticle drug carriers inhibited cancer stem-cell phenotype in chemo-resistant breast cancer.
In this study, uPAR PET imaging using a <sup>68</sup>Ga-labeled version of the uPAR-targeting peptide (AE105) was investigated in a group of patients with BC, PC, and UBC.
Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) has been validated as a predictive or prognostic biomarker protein, and mesupron is considered the first-in-class anticancer agent to inhibit uPA activity in human breast cancer.
Genetic deficiency of uPA leads to a significant reduction in metastases in the murine transgenic MMTV-PyMT breast cancer model, demonstrating a causal role for uPA in cancer dissemination.
Urokinase type plasminogen activator (uPA) is a serine protease that is involved in cancer progression, especially invasion and metastasis of breast cancer.
Although uPA can be transiently upregulated by diverse extracellular stimuli, sustained, but not transiently upregulated uPA expression contributes to breast cancer invasion/metastasis.
Evidence has been presented that the uPA system facilitates breast cancer metastasis by several different mechanisms, such as the Ras-ERK pathway and p38 MAPK pathway.
The transition in uPAR signaling from uPA-dependent and transient to autonomous and sustained is reminiscent of the transformation in ErbB2/HER2 signaling observed when this gene is amplified in breast cancer. uPAR over-expression may provide a pathway for escape of breast cancer cells from ERα-targeting therapeutics.
By using microarray profiling of breast cancer cell lines that had undergone siRNA-mediated abrogation of Notch signaling we uncovered a link between activated Notch signaling and uPA expression.
Using an ARE-gene microarray, novel targets of TTP regulation were identified, namely, urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA), uPA receptor and matrix metalloproteinase-1, all known to have prominent roles in breast cancer invasion and metastasis.
Downregulation of miR-193b contributes to enhance urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) expression and tumor progression and invasion in human breast cancer.
This study describes the synthesis and preliminary biologic evaluation of an (111)In-labeled peptide antagonist of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) as a potential probe for assessing metastatic potential of human breast cancer in vivo.
For using uPA and PAI-1 levels as prognostic and predictive factors in breast cancer the quantity of tumor stroma in the tumor tissue specimen is not relevant for assessment patients outcome.
This is the first study in which tumor cells and stromal tissue of invasive breast carcinomas (n=60) were separated by laser capture microdissection followed by ELISA-based determination of the uPA-, uPAR- and PAI-1-levels.
Elevated expression of osteopontin (OPN) in higher grades of breast carcinoma correlates with enhanced expressions of several oncogenic molecules (urokinase-type plasminogen activator [uPA], matrix metalloproteinase-2/-9 [MMP-2 and -9]) and increased angiogenic potential of breast carcinoma.
Highly sensitive quantitative real-time PCR (QPCR) assays, based on the LightCycler technology, were established to quantify uPA and PAI-1 mRNA expression in breast cancer cell lines as well as in tumor tissue of breast cancer patients. mRNA concentrations were normalized to the expression level of the housekeeping gene h-G6PDH.