Lysyl oxidase in cancer inhibition and metastasis

Lysyl oxidase is an extracellular matrix, copper - dependent amine oxidase that catalyzes a key enzymatic step in the crosslinking of collagen and elastin. The enzyme is synthesized as a propeptide that is cleaved by procollagen - C - proteinase into two distinct parts: the mature form and the LOX propeptide. The mature enzyme plays a key role in modifying the extracellular matrix and as a result has been implicated in playing a role in the formation of cancer "niches" where tumors will develop and eventually metastasize. On the other hand, the LOX propeptide has been shown to have an inhibitory effect in the development of cancer tumors. New approaches are being developed to test the use of small molecule inhibitors on LOX; however, the lack of a crystal structure has hampered these efforts as it is extremely difficult to design selective inhibitors without knowing what the target receptor looks like. In this mini review we discuss the lysyl oxidase enzyme and its role several types of cancers.