Maspin Suppresses Breast Cancer Cell Invasiveness by Modulating Integrin Expression and Function

Richard E.B. Seftor, Valerie A. Odero, Elisabeth A. Seftor and Mary J.C. Hendrix

Although the novel tumor suppressor gene maspin (mammary serine protease inhibitor) was originally isolated from normal mammary epithelium by subtractive hybridization and differential display almost seven years ago,^1-2 it is still unclear how it funct...

Cancer Invasion-Related Genes

Anja Bosserhoff and Reinhard Buettner

This review provides a brief overview on gene families involved in invasion. Mechanistically, these molecules are involved in deregulation of adhesive interaction of tumor cells with each other and with extracellular matrices, in synthesis and activation of proteases and other enzymes...

Common Mechanistic Features in Cell-Extracellular Matrix Interactions Regulating Neurite Outgrowth and Tumor Cell Invasion

Henri J. Huttunen and Heikki Rauvala

Neurite extension in tissues to establish neuronal connections can be envisioned as a form of invasive migration of growth cones, the distal tips of the neurites that interact with the extracellular environment and contain the essential machinery requi...

Emmprin (CD147), a Tumor Cell Surface Inducer of Matrix Metalloproteinase

Bryan P. Toole

Emmprin is a member of the Ig superfamily that plays an essential role in several normal tissues but is particularly enriched on the surface of malignant tumor cells in vitro and in vivo. Tumor cell emmprin stimulates production of several matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) by fibroblas...

Genetic and Epigenetic Regulation of Maspin Gene Expression in Normal and Tumor Tissue

Frederick E. Domann and Bernard W. Futscher

Maspin, a tumor suppressor gene, encodes a protein that has been shown to restrict breast cancer cell motility, invasion, and metastasis. Expression of the maspin gene is commonly silenced during breast cancer progression, and this loss of expression has been shown to o...

Influence of Cell-Extracellular Matrix Interactions on Keratinocyte Behavior During Repair

Brian K. Pilcher, Jonathan C.R. Jones and William C. Parks

The extracellular matrix (ECM), composed of both proteinaceous and nonproteinaceous components, was once thought to merely serve a scaffolding function that provided structural integrity and resiliency to tissues. While this is an important function of the ECM, it is also a key regulator...

Integrins in Cancer Cell Invasion

Pekka Koistinen and Jyrki Heino

Integrins are a family of transmembrane glycoprotein receptors that mediate cell-matrix and cell-cell interactions.^1,2 Integrins consist of an a and a b subunit. To date 24 distinct integrin heter...

Keratinocyte Interactions with Fibronectin during Wound Healing

H. Larjava, L. Koivisto and L. Häkkinen

_Reepithelialization of wounds is critical for survival. After injury, fibronectinfibrin clot is formed. Keratinocytes become activated and start migrating into the clot. Migration involves coordinate expression of several new extracellular matrix molecules, f...

Maspin and Myoepithelial Cells

Sanford H. Barsky, Paul Kedeshian and Mary L. Alpaugh

Host cellular paracrine regulation of tumor progression is an important determinant of tumor growth, invasion and metastasis but one cell which has largely been ignored in this regulation is the myoepithelial cell. In any organ where there is significant branching morph...

Maspin and Pericellular Plasminogen Activation in Cell-Matrix Interaction

Shijie Sheng, Hector Biliran Jr. and Richard McGowen

Maspin may offer a unique opportunity to block tumor invasion and metastasis. Maspin expression correlates with normality, and pre-malignant and/or less invasive lesions in breast, prostate and oral squamous cells.¹⁵ Therefore, maspin may be a useful molecula...

Maspin in the Sager Laboratory

Ming Zhang, Shijie Sheng and Arthur B. Pardee

Discovery of a disease-related gene marks only the beginning to a series of difficult investigations. In order to establish the functional role of the newly discovered gene, one has to obtain insights into its biological activities, genetic and epigenetic regulations...

Maspin, a Potential Prognostic Marker for Human Cancers

Mickey C-T. Hu, Weiya Xia and Mien-Chie Hung

Maspin (mammary serine protease inhibitor) is a 42 kDa protein that shares significant sequence homology with several members of the serpin (serine protease inhibitor) family, including plasminogen activation inhibitors 1 and 2 (PAI-1 and PAI...

Maspin: Functional Insights from a Structural Perspective

Philip A. Pemberton

Since the seminal paper by Zou et al¹ identifying the existence of the novel tumor suppressor maspin (mammary serpin), research efforts have largely focused on the mechanism of action of the protein and its utility as a prognostic indicator for other types of...

Matrix Metalloproteinases and Cell Migration in the Development of Cardiovascular Disease

Sarah J. George, Andrew C. Newby and Andrew H. Baker

The matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family of enzymes has the ability to degrade all components of the extracellular matrix. For this fundamental reason, the MMPs have been implicated in the initiation, development and progression of diverse clinical conditions ranging from cancer and art...

Matrix Metalloproteinases in Cancer Cell Invasion

Niina Reunanen and VeliMatti Kähäri

Controlled remodeling of extracellular matrix (ECM) is essential for growth, invasion, and metastasis of malignant tumors. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of secreted zincdependent endopeptidases collectively capable of degrading ECM components and there is considerable amo...

Ruth Sager, Geneticist

Arthur B. Pardee

Ruth Sager named her favorite gene Maspin, mammary serpin protease inhibitor. Expression of this gene is lost in advanced breast cancers and inhibits tumor invasion and metastasis. This book highlights advances made in studies that developed from her laboratory's res...

The Plasminogen Activation System in Cell Invasion

M. Patrizia Stoppelli

The plasminogen activator/plasmin system is an enzymatic cascade involved in the control of fibrin degradation, matrix turnover and cell invasion.

Extracellular conversion of the ubiquitous inactive plasminogen to the broad spectrum serine protease plasmin results in the recruitment ...

The Role of Maspin in Human Placental Development

Anuja Dokras, Lynn M.G. Gardner, Dawn A. Kirschmann, Elisabeth A. Seftor and Mary J.C. Hendrix

The human placenta is hemochorial and displays highly regulated invasive activity and exponential growth potential. The stem cell cytotrophoblasts undergo differentiation along two pathways: they fuse to form multinucleate syncytiotrophoblasts or they detach from the ba...

The Role of Maspin in Tumor Progression and Normal Development

Ming Zhang

Serine protease inhibitors (serpins) are comprised of a large family of molecules that play a variety of physiological roles in vivo.^1-3 Not all molecules that inhibit serine proteases are termed serpins. But all serpins have a very special protein str...