Triple-Negative Breast Cancers (TNBCs) are the most difficult to treat subtype of breast cancer and are often associated with high nuclear expression of Snail and Cathepsin L (Cat L) protease.
Here, we utilized HyCoSuL, a positional scanning substrate approach, to develop a highly-selective fluorogenic substrate and activity-based probe for monitoring cathepsin L activity in the breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231.
Targeting the Nuclear Cathepsin L CCAAT Displacement Protein/Cut Homeobox Transcription Factor-Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition Pathway in Prostate and Breast Cancer Cells with the Z-FY-CHO Inhibitor.
CTSL semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis on breast tissue panels revealed significant upregulation of CTSL in breast cancer patients which strongly correlated with increased relapse and metastatic incidence and poor overall survival.
With the help of the polyoma middle T oncogene driven breast cancer mouse model expressing a human CTSL genomic transgene, we show that CTSL indeed promotes breast cancer metastasis to the lung.