title: Kallikrein 11 expressed in human breast cancer cells releases insulin-like growth factor through degradation of IGFBP-3.
abstract: Expression of human kallikrein 11 (hK11), secreted as a trypsin-like serine protease, is related to the prognosis of some human cancers, but its physiological functions in the steps of cancer progression are still unknown. In order to elucidate the enzymatic function of hK11 we investigated the substrate of hK11 and expression of KLK11, the gene encoding hK11. Among 20 human cancer cell lines tested, two estrogen receptor possessing [ER(+)] breast cancers showed the highest expression of KLK11. The investigation of the hK11 substrate showed that hK11 could degrade itself and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3). Expression of KLK11 was detected in both human breast cancer tissue and in non-cancerous mammary glands, and significantly higher KLK11 expression was observed in histological grade I/II than in grade III breast cancers. The above results indicate that the hK11 expressed in ER(+) breast cancer cells may play a crucial role in breast cancer progression by increasing the bioavailability of IGFs via degradation of IGFBP-3.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsumi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sano
authors.forename: Takafumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sangai
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hasebe
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ochiai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015153:Blotting, Western; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D018450:Disease Progression; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018972:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3 / Q000378:metabolism*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism*; D013002:Somatomedins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018972:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D013002:Somatomedins; C114880:trypsin-like serine protease; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases