title: Up-regulation of gelatinases in the colorectal adenoma-carcinoma sequence.
abstract: Gelatinase activity has been associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) invasion and metastasis. However, it remains unresolved whether these proteases participate in early colorectal carcinogenesis. The activity of metalloproteinases (MMP) 2 and 9 were measured by zymography in 122 colorectal adenomas, 22 CRC samples, 12 hyperplasic polyps and in 114 matched normal mucosal samples from 114 patients undergoing colonoscopy. There was a progressive and significant increase of pro-MMP-9 activity from adenoma to CRC tissue, whereas the activity of the latent and active forms of MMP-2 was exclusively up-regulated in CRC samples. Among neoplastic polyps, pro-MMP-9 activity was significantly higher in advanced versus non-advanced adenomas and in those harbouring high grade dysplasia. In addition, a positive correlation was observed between MMP-9 activity and the size of the adenomas. The present study demonstrates that MMP-9 is markedly up-regulated in the adenomatous tissue and suggests that this gelatinase might be a marker for early colorectal carcinogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Gastroenterology Department, Hospital Universitario de Canarias, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
authors.forename: Antonio Z
authors.initials: AZ
authors.lastname: Gimeno-García
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Santana-Rodríguez
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jiménez
authors.forename: Adolfo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Parra-Blanco
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nicolás-Pérez
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Paz-Cabrera
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Díaz-González
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Medina
authors.forename: Lucio
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Díaz-Flores
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Quintero
mesh_terms: D000236:Adenoma / Q000201:enzymology*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000201:enzymology*; D003113:Colonoscopy; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000201:enzymology*; D005260:Female; D018093:Gelatinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D045726:Metalloproteases / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D045726:Metalloproteases; D018093:Gelatinases