• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.174-180
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• 2016

Dicumarol is a coumarin derivative isolated from sweet clover (Melilotus alba), and has anti-coagulant activity with the inhibitory activity of NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase1 (NQO1). NQO1 catalyzes the two-electron reduction of quinones to hydroquinones. Dicumarol competes with NAD(P)H for binding to NQO1, resulting in the inhibition of NQO1 enzymatic activity. The expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) has been implicated in the invasion and metastasis of cancer cells. The expression of MMPs is regulated by cytokines and signal transduction pathways, including those activated by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). However, the effects of dicumarol on metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 expression and activity are not investigated here. This study investigated whether dicumarol inhibits MMP-9 expression and activity in PMA-treated human renal carcinoma Caki cells. Dicumarol markedly inhibited the PMA-induced MMP-9 mRNA expression and MMP-9 activity. NF-κB and AP1 promoter activity, which is important in MMP-9 expression, also decreased in dicumarol-treated cells. Furthermore, dicumarol markedly suppressed the ability of PMA-mediated migration in Caki cells. When the relevance of NQO1 in the dicumarol-mediated inhibitory effect on PMA-induced MMP9 activity was elucidated, knock-down of NQO1 with siRNA was found to have no effect on PMA-induced MMP9 activity, suggesting that the stimulating effect of dicumarol on PMA-induced MMP9 activity is independent of NQO1 activity. Taken together, the present studies suggested that dicumarol may inhibit PMA-induced migration via down-regulation of MMP-9 expression and activity.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.231-238
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• 2008

The second family member of tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases, TIMP-2, is a 21kDa protein which inhibits matrix metalloproteinases 2 (MMP-2). Expression of mammalian proteins in E. coli often forms inclusion bodies that are made up of mis-folded or insoluble protein aggregates. The requirement for the formation of 6 disulfide bonds in the process of the TIMP-2 folding is likely to be incompatible with the reducing environment of E. coli. However, this incompatibility can be often overcome by introducing a mutagenesis that could lead to enhancement of the protein solubility. In this reason, we have attempted to express the soluble TIMP-2 in E. coli by applying a modified staggered extension process (StEP), one of the in vitro PCR-based recombinant mutagenesis methods, and error-prone PCR. C-terminally located CAT fusion protein with respect to mutated TIMP-2 proteins enables us to differentiate the soluble TIMP-2 from the insoluble in E. coli by virtue of chloramphenicol resistance. According to this scheme, E. coli harboring properly-folded CAT fused to TIMP-2 protein was selected, and some of the resulting colonies exhibited an enhanced, soluble expression of TIMP-2 compared to the wild type, implying (i) the StEP technique is successfully employed to enhance the proper folding thereby increasing the solubility of TIMP-2, and (ii) the CAT dependent screening may be a simple and effective method to differentiate the soluble protein expression in E. coli.

• The Journal of the Korean bone and joint tumor society
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.111-121
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• 2009

Background: Osteosarcoma is one of the most common primary malignant tumors of bone occurring mainly in children and adolescents. Although surgery combined with chemotherapy has markedly improved patient survival during the last years, the use of anticancer drugs is still associated with serious problem, such as the frequent acquisition of drug-resistant phenotypes and occurrence of "secondary malignancies". Several solid tumors display enhanced expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), and recently clinical trials have been initiated on MMP-inhibitors. On the other hand, bisphosphonates (BPs) are inhibitors of bone resorption, and widely used to treat osteoclast-mediated bone diseases. Also they appear to possess direct antitumor activity. Methods: One osteosarcoma cell line (U2OS) was treated with ibandronate (0, 0.1, 1, $10{\mu}M$) for 48 hours. Cell viabilities were determined using MTT assay, the mRNA levels of MMP-2 and MT1-MMP were detected by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction, the amount of MMP-2 and MT1-MMP protein were measured by Westernblot, the activities of MMP-2 were observed by Gelatin zymography, and Matrigel invasion assays were used to investigate the invasive potential of osteosarcoma cell lines before and after ibandronate treatment. Results: The invasiveness of U2OS cell line was reduced dose-dependently following 48 hour treatment of up to $10{\mu}M$ of the ibandronate at which concentration no cytotoxicity occurred. Furthermore, the gelatinolytic activities and protein and mRNA levels of MMP-2 and MT1-MMP were also suppressed by increasing ibandronate concentrations. Conclusion: Given that MMP-2 is instrumental in tumor cell invasion, it is very likely that the reduction in osteosarcoma cell invasion by ibandronate is a consequence, at least in part, of suppressed expression of both MMP-2 and MT1-MMP. Isolation of a molecule (s) responsible for the bisphosphonate inhibition of tumor cell invasion would pave the way for the development of a new generation of metastasis inhibitors.

• BMB Reports
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.825-831
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• 2007

Tumor cell invasion and metastasis are often associated with matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), among which MMP-2 and MMP-9 are of central importance. We previously showed that H-Ras, but not N-Ras, induced invasion of MCF10A human breast epithelial cells in which the enhanced expression of MMP-2 was involved. MMP-2 is produced as a latent pro-MMP-2 (72 kDa) to be activated resulting the 62 kDa active MMP-2. The present study investigated if H-Ras and/or N-Ras induces pro-MMP-2 activation of MCF10A cells when cultured in two-dimensional gel of type I collagen. Type I collagen induced activation of pro-MMP-2 only in H-Ras MCF10A cells but not in N-Ras MCF10A cells. Induction of active MMP-2 by type I collagen was suppressed by blocking integrin ${\alpha}2$, indicating the involvement of integrin signaling in pro-MMP-2 activation. Membrane-type (MT)1-MMP and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-2 were up-regulated by H-Ras but not by N-Ras in the type I collagen-coated gel, suggesting that H-Ras-specific up-regulation of MT1-MMP and TIMP-2 may lead to the activation of pro-MMP-2. Since acquisition of pro-MMP-2 activation can be associated with increased malignant progression, these results may help understanding the mechanisms for the cell surface matrix-degrading potential which will be crucial to the prognosis and therapy of breast cancer metastasis.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.422-429
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• 2009

Invasion and metastasis is the main cause of cancer mortality. Angiogenesis is a prerequisite for the tumor growth and metastasis. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are the key enzymes playing in the invasive growth and metastasis of cancer as well as angiogenesis. Xanthohumol, a prenylated chalcone of the Hop plant (Humulus lupulus L), has been reported to suppress cancer invasion and angiogenesis. In the present study, we investigated the antiinvasive effects of xanthohumol (1) and its synthetic derivatives, 4'-O-methylxanthohumol SEM ether (2), xanthohumol C (3), and xanthohumol C MOM ether (4) in relation to MMP expression in HT-1080 human fibrosarcoma cells. The compound 1 and its derivative, 3 and 4, significantly inhibited serum-induced HT-1080 cell invasion, and 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-enhanced activity and expression level of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in a concentration-dependant manner. In addition, they inhibited TPA-enhanced expression of MT1-MMP with relatively weak inhibition in tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1 and TIMP-2 level. The compound 1 significantly decreased the cell viability, whereas the derivatives, 2 and 3 showed no cytotoxicity, and compound 4 showed slight cytotoxicity in the cells. Furthermore, in a chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay, the derivatives 3 and 4 dose-dependently suppressed vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-induced angiogenesis, which is similar to that of compound 1. Taken together, the results indicate that compounds 3 and 4 may be valuable anti-angiogenic agents in the treatment of chronic diseases such as cancer and inflammation working through suppression of MMP-2 and MMP-9.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.614-619
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• 2016

The prostate-apoptosis-response-gene-4 (Par-4) protein has been identified as an effector of cell death in response to various apoptotic stimuli in prostate cancer cells. We found that overexpression of Par-4 by stable transfection inhibits cell migration and invasion in Caki cells. The expression of various matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) has been implicated in the invasion and metastasis of cancer cells. In this study, we investigated whether ectopic expression of Par-4 modulates MMP-2 expression and activity in human renal carcinoma Caki cells. We found that overexpression of Par-4 markedly inhibited MMP-2 activity, but not MMP-9 activity. However, loss of the leucine zipper domain of Par-4 (Par-4 ΔLZ#1 and #2) did not inhibit MMP-2 activity. Further, knock-down of Par-4 with the corresponding siRNA resulted in increased invasion and metastasis of renal carcinoma Caki cells. Interestingly, overexpression or knock-down of Par-4 did not affect the expression levels of MMP-2 mRNA. Taken together, our findings suggest that Par-4 may inhibit MMP-2 activity through its post-transcriptional regulation in renal carcinoma Caki cells.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.185-192
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• 2016

Ampicillin, a ${\beta}$-lactam antibiotic, dose-dependently protects neurons against ischemic brain injury. The present study was performed to investigate the neuroprotective mechanism of ampicillin in a mouse model of transient global forebrain ischemia. Male C57BL/6 mice were anesthetized with halothane and subjected to bilateral common carotid artery occlusion for 40 min. Before transient forebrain ischemia, ampicillin (200 mg/kg, intraperitoneally [i.p.]) or penicillin G (6,000 U/kg or 20,000 U/kg, i.p.) was administered daily for 5 days. The pretreatment with ampicillin but not with penicillin G significantly attenuated neuronal damage in the hippocampal CA1 subfield. Mechanistically, the increased activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) following forebrain ischemia was also attenuated by ampicillin treatment. In addition, the ampicillin treatment reversed increased immunoreactivities to glial fibrillary acidic protein and isolectin B4, markers of astrocytes and microglia, respectively. Furthermore, the ampicillin treatment significantly increased the level of glutamate transporter-1, and dihydrokainic acid (DHK, 10 mg/kg, i.p.), an inhibitor of glutamate transporter-1 (GLT-1), reversed the neuroprotective effect of ampicillin. Taken together, these data indicate that ampicillin provides neuroprotection against ischemia-reperfusion brain injury, possibly through inducing the GLT-1 protein and inhibiting the activity of MMP in the mouse hippocampus.

• BMB Reports
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• v.46 no.11
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• pp.533-538
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• 2013

The expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) produced by cancer cells has been associated with the high potential of metastasis in several human carcinomas, including breast cancer. Several pieces of evidence demonstrate that protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTP) have functions that promote cell migration and metastasis in breast cancer. We analyzed whether PTP inhibitor might control breast cancer invasion through MMP expression. Herein, we investigate the effect of 4-hydroxy- 3,3-dimethyl-2H benzo[g]indole-2,5(3H)-dione (BVT948), a novel PTP inhibitor, on 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced MMP-9 expression and cell invasion in MCF-7 cells. The expression of MMP-9 and cell invasion increased after TPA treatment, whereas TPA-induced MMP-9 expression and cell invasion were decreased by BVT948 pretreatment. Also, BVT948 suppressed NF-${\kappa}B$ activation in TPA-treated MCF-7 cells. However, BVT948 didn't block TPA-induced AP-1 activation in MCF-7 cells. Our results suggest that the PTP inhibitor blocks breast cancer invasion via suppression of the expression of MMP-9.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.1175-1179
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• 2015

Background: Expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) is up-regulated in human cancers. The aim of present study was to investigate the role of MMP-9 C-1562T polymorphism and its interaction with MMP-2 C-735T polymorphism in susceptibility to breast cancer in a population from Western Iran with Kurdish ethnic background. Materials and Methods: The study sample of 205 individuals consisted of 101 breast cancer patients and 104 healthy subjects. MMP-9 C-1562T and MMP-2 C-735T variants were identified using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Results: Among 67.4% of studied patients the breast cancer developed in the third and forth decades of the life. The frequency of MMP-9 T allele was 17.3% in patients and 10.1% in controls. The presence of T allele significantly increased the risk of breast cancer by 1.87-fold [OR=1.87 (95% CI 1.05-3.33, p=0.035)]. The frequency of MMP-9 CT+TT genotype tended to be higher in those patients with a family history of cancer in first degree-relatives (36.8%) than those without a family history (28.3%, p=0.37). We observed an interaction between the MMP-9 -1562 T allele with MMP-2 -735 C allele that significantly increased the risk of breast cancer [OR=1.42 (95% CI 1.02-1.98, p=0.036)]. Conclusions: The present study demonstrated that MMP-9 C-1562T polymorphism alone and in combination with MMP-2 C-735T polymorphism increased the risk of breast cancer that might be a useful biomarker in identifying women at risk of developing breast cancer. Also, this study revealed that in most women from Western Iran breast cancer presents in third and fourth decades of life.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.199-203
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• 2007

Several matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been shown to play an important role in the invasion and metastasis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The members of the TGF-$\beta$ signaling pathway are being considered as predictive biomarkers for progressive tumorigenesis and molecular targets for the prevention and the treatment of cancer and metastasis. The aim of the present study was to find the clinical significance of the expression of TGF-${\beta}1$ and MMP-2 related to the regional lymph node metastasis in OSCC. This study included 76 cases of primary OSCC, of which 42 cases showed regional lymph node metastases. Immunohistochemistry was used for the localization of protein. The relation between the expression of each protein and clinical variables was statistically evaluated. In results, the expression of TGF-${\beta}1$ both main mass with lymph node metastasis and without lymph node metastasis was found not to be statistically significant (p>0.05). The expression of MMP-2 was found to be statistically significant related to regional lymph node metastasis (p<0.05). When compared the expression in the metastatic lymph node, TGF-${\beta}1$ was significantly highly expressed than MMP-2 (p<0.05). In conclusion, the expression of MMP-2 was significantly elevated in patients with lymph node metastasis as compared to the patients without lymph node metastasis, which could be useful in predicting the risk of lymph node metastasis in OSCC.