title: Gelatin zymography and substrate cleavage assays of matrix metalloproteinase-2 in breast carcinoma cells overexpressing membrane type-1 matrix metalloproteinase.
abstract: Gelatin zymography is the common method for examining matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) in cells and media samples. Activation of the latent MMP-2 zymogen involves its binding to the cell surface MT1-MMP*TIMP-2 (membrane type-1 matrix metalloproteinase/tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-2) complex with subsequent cleavage of proMMP-2 by TIMP-2-free adjacent MT1-MMP. This is followed by autolytic maturation of the activation intermediate and the release of the mature MMP-2 species from cell surfaces into the extracellular milieu. To observe the MMP-2 activation pathway in more detail, proMMP-2-deficient MCF7 breast carcinoma cells expressing MT1-MMP were incubated with excess proMMP-2 to saturate the available MT1-MMP*TIMP-2 surface receptors. After removal of the unbound material, the kinetics of proMMP-2 activation and MMP-2 release from cells into media was monitored by gelatin zymography and substrate cleavage. Our observations demonstrate that gelatin zymography is insufficient for providing meaningful information about the status of MMP-2. The proteolytically competent mature MMP-2 moiety alone, but not in its complex with TIMP-2, was released from the cells. In tissue culture conditions, the enzyme's proteolytic activity was suppressed in the next 30 to 60 minutes by tissue inhibitors of MMPs, especially by TIMP-1. The picture emerges that there is a likely temporal regulation of MMP-2 activity by TIMPs in tumor cells. These relatively rapid changes of the MMP-2 status cannot be detected by gelatin zymography. Additional studies are needed to examine the significance of this phenomenon in vivo.
authors.affiliation: The Burnham Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Boris I
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Ratnikov
authors.forename: Elena I
authors.initials: EI
authors.lastname: Deryugina
authors.forename: Alex Y
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Strongin
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology*; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D005260:Female; D005780:Gelatin; D005910:Glioma / Q000201:enzymology; D006801:Humans; D020778:Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 / Q000032:analysis*; D053504:Matrix Metalloproteinases, Membrane-Associated; D008666:Metalloendopeptidases / Q000502:physiology*; D019715:Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 / Q000502:physiology; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D019715:Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1; D005780:Gelatin; D053504:Matrix Metalloproteinases, Membrane-Associated; D008666:Metalloendopeptidases; D020778:Matrix Metalloproteinase 2