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MT1-mmp: a collagenase essential for tumor cell invasive growth
Kenn Holmbeck1, Paolo Bianco, Henning Birkedal-Hansen
1Matrix Metalloproteinase Unit, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Abstract:
The manuscript discussed in this preview describes that reconstituted three-dimensional extracellular matrices such as fibrillar collagen and fibrin exert stringent territorial growth control on cells. The authors show that tumor cells are able to escape the matrix-enforced growth control effect (entrapment) by pericellular proteolysis mediated by MT1-MMP, a membrane bound matrix metalloproteinase capable of directly cleaving both type I collagen and fibrin but not by other, soluble matrix metalloprotinases. These data convincingly demonstrate one way that tumor cells orchestrate proteolysis to invade surrounding tissues.