[Integrins and metalloproteinases: an efficient collaboration in the invasive process]

During the invasive process, tumor cells must move through the extracellular matrix. They have to adhere to the extracellular matrix components, then proteolyse them and migrate on their fragments. This implicates integrins and proteinases, namely metalloproteinases. Numerous experiments which had been performed on various models, namely malignant melanomas proved that integrins have a major role in the transduction of signals from the outside to the inside of the cells, such signals enhancing the expression of the metalloproteinases or, in the contrary, inhibiting it. The modifications of this expression are dependent of extracellular matrix components and may be induced by the linking of specific antibodies to integrins. In some instances, the integrins localized on the tumor cell surface may act as receptors for extracellular matrix proteins and metalloproteinases at once, that may give to tumor cells an higher efficiency in the invasive process. Such mechanisms may result in interesting clinical perspectives for the control of metalloproteinases regulation in pathological processes.