title: Malignant cell-specific gelatinase activity in human endometrial carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The protease activity leading to degradation of the extracellular matrix was compared between human endometrial cancer and normal uterine endometrium.
  
  
  METHODS
  Conditioned medium from tumor cells and normal endometrial cells was subjected to electrophoresis on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel containing gelatin as a substrate. After electrophoresis, the gel was stained with Coomassie blue, and then the enzyme activity, expressed as the zone of dye clearing, was analyzed by densitometry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Densitometric analysis showed that all the endometrial cancers expressed a very high molecular weight enzyme activity (Mr 220,000), which was not detected in medium from normal endometrial cells. The analysis also showed that in endometrial cancer the activity of a Mr 92,000 enzyme was always superior to that of a Mr 64,000 enzyme, which was in contrast to the situation for normal endometrium.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results indicate that the expression of Mr 220,000 enzyme activity and the higher activity of the Mr 92,000 enzyme than the Mr 64,000 enzyme are involved in the malignant phenotype of native endometrial cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Osaka University Medical School, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takemura
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Azuma
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tokugawa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miki
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Saji
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Tanizawa
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003470:Culture Media; D016889:Endometrial Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D004717:Endometrium / Q000201:enzymology; D005260:Female; D018093:Gelatinases; D006801:Humans; D003012:Microbial Collagenase / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010434:Pepsin A / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D010434:Pepsin A; D018093:Gelatinases; D003012:Microbial Collagenase