These data suggest that Ad-uPAR-MMP-9 shows its antitumor activity against both established and early phases of lung cancer metastases by causing the destruction of the tumor vasculature.
Using a series of bone marrow transplantation experiments in MMP-9(+/+) and MMP-9(-/-) mice xenotransplanted with human neuroblastoma tumors, we show that bone marrow-derived MMP-9 is critical for the recruitment of leukocytes from bone marrow into the tumor stroma and for the integration of bone marrow-derived endothelial cells into the tumor vasculature.