Hypoxia effects: implications for maspin regulation of the uPA/uPAR complex

The serpin family of serine protease inhibitors has generated a lot of interest in the past few years. One member in particular, maspin, has been under intense scrutiny as of late due to its seemingly growing potential in the cancer field as a therapeutic agent for breast and prostate cancers. Originally identified in a subtractive hybridization screen of breast cancer cells, maspin has since been classified as a putative tumor suppressor. In the April (2005) issue of Cancer Biology & Therapy, Amir et al report on the novel role maspin plays in the regulation of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and receptor (uPAR) protein system as it relates to hypoxia thereby illustrating yet another potential therapeutic pathway involving maspin.