Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 17, 2026

An Orthotopic Murine Model of Human Prostate Cancer Metastasis
Published on: September 18, 2013
[Correlation between expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-2, TIMP-1 and metastasis of neuroblastoma]
Yu Cheng1, Qian Dong, Li-rong Sun
1Department of Pediatric Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Medical College, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266003, China.
Objective:
To study MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-2 and TIMP-1 expression, and their association to invasion and metastasis of neuroblastoma (NB).
Methods:
The staining status was compared of MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-2 and TIMP-1 in cryostat sections of tumor tissue in 35 NB patients by immunohistochemistry.
Results:
Strong expression of MMP-2 was detected only in 2 patients with early stage NB (group A without metastasis), but in 9 and 10 respectively with advanced stage NB (group B with local metastasis and group C with distant metastasis) (compared to group A, P < 0.01). Strong MMP-9 staining was found in 4, 8 and 11 patients for group A, B and C patients (group A vs group C, P < 0.05). The expression of TIMP-2 was the strongest in 4 group A patients, but it decreased with progression of the disease. There was no statistical difference in TIMP-1 expression among the three groups of patients.
Conclusion:
MMP-2, MMP-9 expression may be related to metastasis and progression of neuroblastoma, while TIMP-2 may have an inhibitory effect.
