We suggest that tumor cell-derived matrix metalloproteinase 12 promotes tumor propagation in the lung and that in the context of pulmonary malignanciesmatrix metalloproteinase 12 should further be tested as a potential novel therapeutic target.
Matrix metalloproteinase-12 (MMP-12) participates in many pathological processes such as abdominal aortic aneurysm, atherosclerosis, emphysema and cancer.
To evaluate the association between the expression of human macrophage metalloelastase (matrix metalloproteinase-12, MMP-12) with cancer invasion and differentiation of endometrial adenocarcinoma, specimens from endometrial adenocarcinoma (n=61) of diverse stages and histologic types were collected from patients having undergone hysterectomy, and specimens from normal endometrium (n=38) were obtained from patients with benign diseases.
We believe that this transgenic rabbit model with increased expression of hMMP-12 may become a useful model for further mechanistic studies of MMP-12 in inflammatory diseases and cancer invasion; it is also an ideal model for testing the in vivo action of MMP-12 inhibitors.