Expression and clinical significance of matrix metalloproteinase-9 in lymphatic invasiveness and metastasis of breast cancer
Matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) is a type-IV collagenase that is highly expressed in breast cancer, but its exact role in tumor progression and metastasis is unclear. MMP-9 mRNA and protein expression was examined by real-time reverse transcriptase PCR and immunohistochemical staining, respective...
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Published in | PloS one Vol. 9; no. 5; p. e97804 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
Public Library of Science
20.05.2014
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) is a type-IV collagenase that is highly expressed in breast cancer, but its exact role in tumor progression and metastasis is unclear.
MMP-9 mRNA and protein expression was examined by real-time reverse transcriptase PCR and immunohistochemical staining, respectively, in 41 breast cancer specimens with matched peritumoral benign breast epithelial tissue and suspicious metastatic axillary lymph nodes. Lymph vessels were labeled with D2-40 and lymphatic microvessel density (LMVD) was calculated. Correlation of MMP-9 protein expression with clinicopathological parameters and LMVD was also evaluated.
MMP-9(+) staining in breast cancer specimens (35/41, 85.4%) was higher than in matched epithelium (21/41, 51.2%; P<0.05) and lymph nodes (13/41, 31.7%; P<0.001). Higher MMP-9 mRNA expression was also detected in tumor specimens compared with matched epithelial tissues and lymph nodes (P<0.05). Elevated MMP-9 expression was correlated with lymph node metastasis and LMVD (P<0.05).
MMP-9 was overexpressed in breast cancer specimens compared with peritumoral benign breast epithelium and lymph nodes. Moreover, its expression in the matched epithelium and lymph nodes was positively associated with lymph node metastasis, and its expression in lymph nodes was positively associated with lymphangiogenesis in breast cancer. Thus, MMP-9 is a potential marker for breast cancer progression. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Conceived and designed the experiments: QWW QMY ZMZ. Performed the experiments: YFH JL. Analyzed the data: HQS. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: QLY. Wrote the paper: QMY QWW. |
ISSN: | 1932-6203 1932-6203 |
DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0097804 |