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Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Characterization of Cell Membrane Extensions and Studying Their Roles in Cancer Cell Adhesion Dynamics
Published on: March 26, 2018
Emerging roles of ADAM and ADAMTS metalloproteinases in cancer
N Rocks1, G Paulissen, M El Hour
1Department of Biology of Tumours and Development, GIGA-Research (Groupe Interdisciplinaire de Génoprotéomique Appliquée) and Center for Experimental Cancer Research (CECR), University of Liege and CHU of Liège, Liege, Belgium.
Abstract:
A disintegrin and metalloproteinases (ADAMs) are a recently discovered family of proteins that share the metalloproteinase domain with matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Among this family, structural features distinguish the membrane-anchored ADAMs and the secreted ADAMs with thrombospondin motifs referred to as ADAMTSs. By acting on a large panel of membrane-associated and extracellular substrates, they control several cell functions such as adhesion, fusion, migration and proliferation. The current review addresses the contribution of these proteinases in the positive and negative regulation of cancer progression as mainly mediated by the regulation of growth factor activities and integrin functions.
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