title: Matrix metalloproteinase 2 promotes cell growth and invasion in colorectal cancer.
abstract: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the western world. In this study, we evaluated the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 2 gene (MMP2) in CRC and analyzed its correlation with clinicopathological features. We found that the expression of MMP2 was significantly higher in CRC tissues than in the colorectal tissues. In addition, high levels of MMP2 protein were positively correlated with the status of tumor size, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, Dukes' stage, and tumor invasion. Moreover, patients with higher MMP2 levels had markedly shorter overall survivals than those with low MMP2 levels. Multivariate analysis results suggested that the level of MMP2 expression is an independent prognostic indicator for the survival of patients with CRC. Silencing MMP2 expression in CRC cell lines with lentiviral-mediated shRNA markedly suppressed cell proliferation, colony formation, and invasion. Furthermore, we observed that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and membrane type 1 (MT1)-MMP protein levels were decreased in MMP2-down-regulated colorectal cells. Therefore, our study demonstrated that MMP2 is an important factor related to carcinogenesis and metastasis of CRC, and MMP2 promotes CRC cell growth and invasion by up-regulating VEGF and MT1-MMP expression, which makes this pathway a potential target for cancer treatment.
authors.affiliation: Colorectal and Anal Surgery,  China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130031,  China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Heng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Tongjun
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D048708:Cell Growth Processes; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002465:Cell Movement; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D019073:HT29 Cells; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D053511:Matrix Metalloproteinase 14 / Q000378:metabolism*; D020778:Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D016019:Survival Analysis; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D020778:Matrix Metalloproteinase 2; D053511:Matrix Metalloproteinase 14