Activation and blocking of the Stat3 signaling pathway can affect invasion ability and expression of the VEGF and MMP-2 genes in pancreatic cancer cells.
Here we tested the hypothesis that the COX-2 product prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) increases cellular invasive potential by inducing matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) expression and activity through an extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)/Ets-1-dependent mechanism in pancreatic cancer.
Here, we report ARHGAP4 as a new regulator of the β-catenin pathway that regulates cell invasion and migration of pancreatic cancer as well as the downstream effector MMP2 and MMP9 expression in vitro.
In conclusion, the present study reveals that the increased expression of OCT4 is correlated with the differentiation of pancreatic cancer, while knockdown of OCT4 suppresses the growth and invasion of pancreatic cancer cells through inhibition of AKT pathway‑mediated PCNA and MMP‑2 expression, suggesting that OCT4 might serve as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.
In this study, analysis of SDF-1α, CXCR4 and MMP-2 expression in pancreatic cancer and adjacent tissue samples from ten patients revealed that all three proteins are overexpressed in human pancreatic cancer.
Knockdown of TM4SF1 inhibited the migration and invasion of pancreatic cancer cells by regulating the expression and activity of MMP-2 and MMP-9, which suggests that TM4SF1 may play a significant role in metastasis in pancreatic cancer.
Moreover, establishment of pancreatic cancer in mice exposed to chronic stress was accompanied by up-regulation of the expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, and VEGF, mediated by a HIF- 1α-dependent β-AR signaling pathway.
Moreover, the anti-metastasis role of CSN5 silence was reversed by MMP2 overexpression, whereas knockdown of MMP2 decreased PC metastasis driven by upregulation of CSN5.
Our study demonstrates that the YY1/FER/STAT3/MMP2 axis is associated with the progression of pancreatic cancer and may provide a new therapeutic target for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.
Overexpression of miR-29c suppresses pancreatic cancer liver metastasis in a nude mouse orthotopic implantation model. miR-29c expression was associated with metastasis and pancreatic cancer patient survival. miR-29c plays an important role in mediating pancreatic cancer metastasis to the liver by targeting MMP2.
Presented findings suggest higher usefulness of TIMP-2 than MMP-2 as potential biomarker in the diagnosis of PC patients, however more studies on large population are needed to support our results.
Steady-state levels of transcripts encoding extracellular matrix proteins, MMP-2 (72-kDa collagenase IV), MMP-9 (92-kDa collagenase type IV), TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 were elevated in the majority of pancreatic-cancer tissue samples as compared to control pancreatic tissue.
Summary, our studies indicate for the first time that NRAGE could suppress metastasis of melanoma and pancreatic cancer probably through downregulation of MMP-2.
The expressions of SMYD3, caspase-3, and matrix metallopeptidase-2 (MMP-2) were detected in pancreatic cancer and non-tumor tissues by immunohistochemistry.
These data indicate that overexpressed miR-221/222 may play an oncogenic role in pancreatic cancer by inducing the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9, thus leading to cancer cell invasion.