Shedding of discoidin domain receptor 1 by membrane-type matrix metalloproteinases.

The discoidin domain receptors (DDRs) are receptor tyrosine kinases that upon binding to collagens undergo receptor phosphorylation, which in turn activates signal transduction pathways that regulate cell-collagen interactions. We report here that collagen-dependent DDR1 activation is partly regulated by the proteolytic activity of the membrane-anchored collagenases, MT1-, MT2-, and MT3-matrix metalloproteinase (MMP). These collagenases cleave DDR1 and attenuate collagen I- and IV-induced receptor phosphorylation. This effect is not due to ligand degradation, as it proceeds even when the receptor is stimulated with collagenase-resistant collagen I (r/r) or with a triple-helical peptide harboring the DDR recognition motif in collagens. Moreover, the secreted collagenases MMP-1 and MMP-13 and the glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored membrane-type MMPs (MT4- and MT6-MMP) have no effect on DDR1 cleavage or activation. N-terminal sequencing of the MT1-MMP-mediated cleaved products and mutational analyses show that cleavage of DDR1 takes place within the extracellular juxtamembrane region, generating a membrane-anchored C-terminal fragment. Metalloproteinase inhibitor studies show that constitutive shedding of endogenous DDR1 in breast cancer HCC1806 cells is partly mediated by MT1-MMP, which also regulates collagen-induced receptor activation. Taken together, these data suggest a role for the collagenase of membrane-type MMPs in regulation of DDR1 cleavage and activation at the cell-matrix interface.

Maspin differential expression patterns as a potential marker for targeted screening of esophageal adenocarcinoma/gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.

AIM: Barrett's esophagus (BE) is a predisposing factor of esophageal adenocarcinoma/gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma (ECA/GEJ Aca). BE patients are stratified and subsequently monitored according to the risk of malignant progression by the combination of endoscopy and biopsy. This study is to evaluate the maspin expression patterns as early diagnostic markers of malignancy in BE patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining was performed on 62 archival core biopsies from 35 patients, including BE without dysplasia (intestinal metaplasia, IM), BE with low grade dysplasia, BE with high grade dysplasia, carcinoma in situ, and well to poorly differentiated ECA/GEJ Aca (PD-ECA/GEJ Aca). The intensity and the subcellular distribution of immunoreactivity were evaluated microscopically. Statistical analysis was performed using the χ2 and Fisher exact tests. RESULTS: The level of epithelial-specific tumor suppressor maspin protein inversely correlated with the progression from IM to PD-ECA/GEJ Aca. Lesions of each pathological grade could be divided into subtypes that exhibited distinct maspin subcellular distribution patterns, including nuclear only (Nuc), combined nuclear and cytoplasmic (Nuc+Cyt), cytoplasmic only (Cyt) and overall negligible (Neg). The Cyt subtype, which was minor in both IM and dysplasia (approximately 10%), was predominant in ECA/GEJ Aca as early as well-differentiated lesions (more than 50%: p = 0.0092). In comparison, nuclear staining of the tumor suppressor TP53 was heterogeneous in dysplasia, and did not correlate with the differentiation grades of ECA/GEJ Aca. CONCLUSION: The Cyt subtype of maspin expression pattern in core biopsies of BE patients may serve as a molecular marker for early diagnosis of ECA/GEJ Aca.

Antimetastatic activity of a novel mechanism-based gelatinase inhibitor.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), and in particular gelatinases (MMP-2 and MMP-9), play a key role in cancer progression. However, clinical trials in which MMP inhibitors were tested in cancer patients have been disappointing. Whereas many reasons have been postulated to explain the failure of the clinical trials, lack of inhibitor selectivity was a major limitation. Thus, despite the consensus opinion that MMP-mediated proteolysis is essential for cancer progression and that certain MMPs represent important targets for intervention, effective and selective inhibition of those MMPs remains a major challenge in drug development. We previously reported the first mechanism-based MMP inhibitor, designated SB-3CT, which is a selective gelatinase inhibitor. Here we report that SB-3CT (5-50 mg/kg/d) is a potent inhibitor of liver metastasis and increases survival in an aggressive mouse model of T-cell lymphoma. This study shows that mechanism-based inhibition of gelatinases represents a novel approach to inhibitor design that promises to be a successful anticancer therapy.

SMYD5 Controls Heterochromatin and Chromosome Integrity during Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation.

Epigenetic regulation of chromatin states is thought to control gene expression programs during lineage specification. However, the roles of repressive histone modifications, such as trimethylated histone lysine 20 (H4K20me3), in development and genome stability are largely unknown. Here, we show that depletion of SET and MYND domain-containing protein 5 (SMYD5), which mediates H4K20me3, leads to genome-wide decreases in H4K20me3 and H3K9me3 levels and derepression of endogenous LTR- and LINE-repetitive DNA elements during differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells. SMYD5 depletion resulted in chromosomal aberrations and the formation of transformed cells that exhibited decreased H4K20me3 and H3K9me3 levels and an expression signature consistent with multiple human cancers. Moreover, dysregulated gene expression in SMYD5 cancer cells was associated with LTR and endogenous retrovirus elements and decreased H4K20me3. In addition, depletion of SMYD5 in human colon and lung cancer cells results in increased tumor growth and upregulation of genes overexpressed in colon and lung cancers, respectively. These findings implicate an important role for SMYD5 in maintaining chromosome integrity by regulating heterochromatin and repressing endogenous repetitive DNA elements during differentiation. Cancer Res; 77(23); 6729-45. ©2017 AACR.

The secretion and biological function of tumor suppressor maspin as an exosome cargo protein.

Maspin is an epithelial-specific tumor suppressor shown to exert its biological effects as an intracellular, cell membrane-associated, and secreted free molecule. A recent study suggests that upon DNA-damaging g-irradiation, tumor cells can secrete maspin as an exosome-associated protein. To date, the biological significance of exosomal secretion of maspin is unknown. The current study aims at addressing whether maspin is spontaneously secreted as an exosomal protein to regulate tumor/stromal interactions. We prepared exosomes along with cell extracts and vesicle-depleted conditioned media (VDCM) from normal epithelial (CRL2221, MCF-10A and BEAS-2B) and cancer (LNCaP, PC3 and SUM149) cell lines. Atomic force microscopy and dynamic light scattering analysis revealed similar size distribution patterns and surface zeta potentials between the normal cells-derived and tumor cells-derived exosomes. Electron microscopy revealed that maspin was encapsulated by the exosomal membrane as a cargo protein. While western blotting revealed that the level of exosomal maspin from tumor cell lines was disproportionally lower relative to the levels of corresponding intracellular and VDCM maspin, as compared to that from normal cell lines, maspin knockdown in MCF-10A cells led to maspin-devoid exosomes, which exhibited significantly reduced suppressive effects on the chemotaxis activity of recipient NIH3T3 fibroblast cells. These data are the first to demonstrate the potential of maspin delivered by exosomes to block tumor-induced stromal response, and support the clinical application of exosomal maspin in cancer diagnosis and treatment.

An Essential Role of Maspin in Embryogenesis and Tumor Suppression.

Maspin (SerpinB5) is an epithelial-specific tumor suppressor gene product that displays context-dependent cellular functions. Maspin-deficient mouse models created to date have not definitively established maspin functions critical for cancer suppression. In this study, we generated a mouse strain in which exon 4 of the Maspin gene was deleted, confirming its essential role in development but also enabling a breeding scheme to bypass embryonic lethality. Phenotypic characterization of this viable strain established that maspin deficiency was associated with a reduction in maximum body weight and a variety of context-dependent epithelial abnormalities. Specifically, maspin-deficient mice exhibited pulmonary adenocarcinoma, myoepithelial hyperplasia of the mammary gland, hyperplasia of luminal cells of dorsolateral and anterior prostate, and atrophy of luminal cells of ventral prostate and stratum spinosum of epidermis. These cancer phenotypes were accompanied by increased inflammatory stroma. These mice also displayed the autoimmune disorder alopecia aerate. Overall, our findings defined context-specific tumor suppressor roles for maspin in a clinically relevant model to study maspin functions in cancer and other pathologies. Cancer Res; 77(4); 886-96. ©2017 AACR.

Synthesis of chiral 2-(4-phenoxyphenylsulfonylmethyl)thiiranes as selective gelatinase inhibitors.

[reactions: see text] Compound 1, 2-(4-phenoxyphenylsulfonylmethyl)thiirane, is a selective inhibitor of gelatinases, which is showing high promise in studies of animal models for cancer metastasis and stroke. The (R)-1 and (S)-1 enantiomers of compound 1 were each synthesized in this study and were shown to be equally active in inhibition of gelatinases.

TIMP-2 (tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2) regulates MMP-2 (matrix metalloproteinase-2) activity in the extracellular environment after pro-MMP-2 activation by MT1 (membrane type 1)-MMP.

The matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 has a crucial role in extracellular matrix degradation associated with cancer metastasis and angiogenesis. The latent form, pro-MMP-2, is activated on the cell surface by the membrane-tethered membrane type 1 (MT1)-MMP, in a process regulated by the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-2. A complex of active MT1-MMP and TIMP-2 binds pro-MMP-2 forming a ternary complex, which permits pro-MMP-2 activation by a TIMP-2-free neighbouring MT1-MMP. It remains unclear how MMP-2 activity in the pericellular space is regulated in the presence of TIMP-2. To address this question, the effect of TIMP-2 on MMP-2 activity in the extracellular space was investigated in live cells, and their isolated plasma membrane fractions, engineered to control the relative levels of MT1-MMP and TIMP-2 expression. We show that both free and inhibited MMP-2 is detected in the medium, and that the net MMP-2 activity correlates with the level of TIMP-2 expression. Studies to displace MT1-MMP-bound TIMP-2 in a purified system with active MMP-2 show minimal displacement of inhibitor, under the experimental conditions, due to the high affinity interaction between TIMP-2 and MT1-MMP. Thus inhibition of MMP-2 activity in the extracellular space is unlikely to result solely as a result of TIMP-2 dissociation from its complex with MT1-MMP. Consistently, immunoblot analyses of plasma membranes, and surface biotinylation experiments show that the level of surface association of TIMP-2 is independent of MT1-MMP expression. Thus low-affinity binding of TIMP-2 to sites distinct to MT1-MMP may have a role in regulating MMP-2 activity in the extracellular space generated by the ternary complex.

Maspin Expression in Prostate Tumor Cells Averts Stemness and Stratifies Drug Sensitivity.

Future curative cancer chemotherapies have to overcome tumor cell heterogeneity and plasticity. To test the hypothesis that the tumor suppressor maspin may reduce microenvironment-dependent prostate tumor cell plasticity and thereby modulate drug sensitivity, we established a new schematic combination of two-dimensional (2D), three-dimensional (3D), and suspension cultures to enrich prostate cancer cell subpopulations with distinct differentiation potentials. We report here that depending on the level of maspin expression, tumor cells in suspension and 3D collagen I manifest the phenotypes of stem-like and dormant tumor cell populations, respectively. In suspension, the surviving maspin-expressing tumor cells lost the self-renewal capacity, underwent senescence, lost the ability to dedifferentiate in vitro, and failed to generate tumors in vivo. Maspin-nonexpressing tumor cells that survived the suspension culture in compact tumorspheres displayed a higher level of stem cell marker expression, maintained the self-renewal capacity, formed tumorspheres in 3D matrices in vitro, and were tumorigenic in vivo. The drug sensitivities of the distinct cell subpopulations depend on the drug target and the differentiation state of the cells. In 2D, docetaxel, MS275, and salinomycin were all cytotoxic. In suspension, while MS275 and salinomycin were toxic, docetaxel showed no effect. Interestingly, cells adapted to 3D collagen I were only responsive to salinomycin. Maspin expression correlated with higher sensitivity to MS275 in both 2D and suspension and to salinomycin in 2D and 3D collagen I. Our data suggest that maspin reduces prostate tumor cell plasticity and enhances tumor sensitivity to salinomycin, which may hold promise in overcoming tumor cell heterogeneity and plasticity.

Maspin expression in prostate tumor elicits host anti-tumor immunity.

The goal of the current study is to examine the biological effects of epithelial-specific tumor suppressor maspin on tumor host immune response. Accumulated evidence demonstrates an anti-tumor effect of maspin on tumor growth, invasion and metastasis. The molecular mechanism underlying these biological functions of maspin is thought to be through histone deacetylase inhibition, key to the maintenance of differentiated epithelial phenotype. Since tumor-driven stromal reactivities co-evolve in tumor progression and metastasis, it is not surprising that maspin expression in tumor cells inhibits extracellular matrix degradation, increases fibrosis and blocks hypoxia-induced angiogenesis. Using the athymic nude mouse model capable of supporting the growth and progression of xenogeneic human prostate cancer cells, we further demonstrate that maspin expression in tumor cells elicits neutrophil- and B cells-dependent host tumor immunogenicity. Specifically, mice bearing maspin-expressing tumors exhibited increased systemic and intratumoral neutrophil maturation, activation and antibody-dependent cytotoxicity, and decreased peritumoral lymphangiogenesis. These results reveal a novel biological function of maspin in directing host immunity towards tumor elimination that helps explain the significant reduction of xenograft tumor incidence in vivo and the clinical correlation of maspin with better prognosis of several types of cancer. Taken together, our data raised the possibility for novel maspin-based cancer immunotherapies.

Maspin reprograms the gene expression profile of prostate carcinoma cells for differentiation.

Maspin is an epithelial-specific tumor suppressor gene. Previous data suggest that maspin expression may redirect poorly differentiated tumor cells to better differentiated phenotypes. Further, maspin is the first and only endogenous polypeptide inhibitor of histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) identified thus far. In the current study, to address what central program of tumor cell redifferentiation is regulated by maspin and how tumor microenvironments further define the effects of maspin, we conducted a systematic and extensive comparison of prostate tumor cells grown in 2-dimensional culture, in 3-dimensional collagen I culture, and as in vivo bone tumors. We showed that maspin was sufficient to drive prostate tumor cells through a spectrum of temporally and spatially polarized cellular processes of redifferentiation, a reversal of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Genes commonly regulated by maspin were a small subset of HDAC target genes that are closely associated with epithelial differentiation and TGFß signaling. These results suggest that a specific endogenous HDAC inhibitor may regulate one functionally related subset of HDAC target genes, although additional maspin-induced changes of gene expression may result from tumor interaction with its specific microenvironments. Currently, EMT is recognized as a critical step in tumor progression. To this end, our current study uncovered a link between maspin and a specific mechanism of prostate epithelial differentiation that can reverse EMT.

A potent gelatinase inhibitor with anti-tumor-invasive activity and its metabolic disposition.

Metastatic tumors lead to more than 90% fatality. Despite the importance of invasiveness of tumors to poor disease outcome, no anti-invasive compounds have been commercialized. We describe herein the synthesis and evaluation of 4-(4-(thiiranylmethylsulfonyl)phenoxy)-phenyl methanesulfonate (compound 2) as a potent and selective inhibitor of gelatinases (matrix metalloproteinases-2 and -9), two enzymes implicated in invasiveness of tumors. It was demonstrated that compound 2 significantly attenuated the invasiveness of human fibrosarcoma cells (HT1080). The metabolism of compound 2 involved hydroxylation at the alpha-methylene, which generates sulfinic acid, thiirane ring-opening, followed by methylation and oxidation, and cysteine conjugation of both the thiirane and phenyl rings.

MT4-(MMP17) and MT6-MMP (MMP25), A unique set of membrane-anchored matrix metalloproteinases: properties and expression in cancer.

The process of cancer progression involves the action of multiple proteolytic systems, among which the family of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play a pivotal role. The MMPs evolved to accomplish their proteolytic tasks in multiple cellular and tissue microenvironments including lipid rafts by incorporation and deletions of specific structural domains. The membrane type-MMPs (MT-MMPs) incorporated membrane anchoring domains that display these proteases at the cell surface, and thus they are optimal pericellular proteolytic machines. Two members of the MT-MMP subfamily, MMP-17 (MT4-MMP) and MMP-25 (MT6-MMP), are anchored to the plasma membrane via a glycosyl-phosphatidyl inositol (GPI) anchor, which confers these enzymes a unique set of regulatory and functional mechanisms that separates them from the rest of the MMP family. Discovered almost a decade ago, the body of work on GPI-MT-MMPs today is still surprisingly limited when compared to other MT-MMPs. However, new evidence shows that the GPI-MT-MMPs are highly expressed in human cancer, where they are associated with progression. Accumulating biochemical and functional evidence also highlights their distinct properties. In this review, we summarize the structural, biochemical, and biological properties of GPI-MT-MMPs and present an overview of their expression and role in cancer. We further discuss the potential implications of GPI-anchoring for enzyme function. Finally, we comment on the new scientific challenges that lie ahead to better understand the function and role in cancer of these intriguing but yet unique MMPs.

MMP25 (MT6-MMP) is highly expressed in human colon cancer, promotes tumor growth, and exhibits unique biochemical properties.

MMP25 (MT6-MMP) is one of the two glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) that have been suggested to play a role in pericellular proteolysis. However, its role in cancer is unknown, and its biochemical properties are not well established. Here we found a marked increase in MT6-MMP expression within in situ dysplasia and invasive cancer in 61 samples of human colon cancer. Expression of MT6-MMP in HCT-116 human colon cancer cells promoted tumori-genesis in nude mice. Histologically, the MT6-MMP-expressing tumors demonstrated an infiltrative leading edge in contrast to a rounded leading edge in vector control tumors. Biochemical and biosynthesis analyses revealed that MT6-MMP displayed on the cell surface exists as a major form of 120 kDa that likely represents enzyme homodimers linked by disulfide bonds. Upon reduction, a single 57-kDa active MT6-MMP was detected. Interestingly, neither membrane-anchored nor phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C-released MT6-MMPs were found to be associated with tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) and did not activate pro-gelatinases (pro-MMP-2 and pro-MMP-9) even in the presence of exogenous TIMP-2 or TIMP-1. A catalytic domain of MT6-MMP was inhibited preferentially by TIMP-1 (K(i) = 0.2 nm) over TIMP-2 (K(i) = 2.0 nm), because of a slower association rate. These results show that MT6-MMP may play a role in colon cancer and exhibit unique biochemical and structural properties that may regulate proteolytic function at the cell surface.

Inhibition of human prostate cancer growth, osteolysis and angiogenesis in a bone metastasis model by a novel mechanism-based selective gelatinase inhibitor.

Metastasis to the bone is a major clinical complication in patients with prostate cancer (PC). However, therapeutic options for treatment of PC bone metastasis are limited. Gelatinases are members of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family and have been shown to play a key role in PC metastasis. Herein, we investigated the effect of SB-3CT, a covalent mechanism-based MMP inhibitor with high selectivity for gelatinases, in an experimental model of PC bone metastases. Intraperitoneal (i.p.) treatment with SB-3CT (50 mg/kg) inhibited intraosseous growth of human PC3 cells within the marrow of human fetal femur fragments previously implanted in SCID mice, as demonstrated by histomorphometry and Ki-67 immunohistochemistry. The anti-osteolytic effect of SB-3CT was confirmed by radiographic images. Treatment with SB-3CT also reduced intratumoral vascular density and bone degradation in the PC3 bone tumors. A direct inhibition of bone marrow endothelial cell invasion and tubule formation in Matrigel by SB-3CT in vitro was also demonstrated. The use of the highly selective gelatinase inhibitors holds the promise of effective intervention of metastases of PC to the bone.

Potent mechanism-based inhibitors for matrix metalloproteinases.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are zinc-dependent endopeptidases that play important roles in physiological and pathological conditions. Both gelatinases (MMP-2 and -9) and membrane-type 1 MMP (MMP-14) are important targets for inhibition, since their roles in various diseases, including cancer, have been well established. We describe herein a set of mechanism-based inhibitors that show high selectivity to gelatinases and MMP-14 (inhibitor 3) and to only MMP-2 (inhibitors 5 and 7). These molecules bind to the active sites of these enzymes, initiating a slow binding profile for the onset of inhibition, which leads to covalent enzyme modification. The full kinetic analysis for the inhibitors is reported. These are nanomolar inhibitors (Ki) for the formation of the noncovalent enzyme-inhibitor complexes. The onset of slow binding inhibition is rapid (k(on) of 10(2) to 10(4) M(-1) s(-1) and the reversal of the process is slow (k(off) of 10(-3) to 10(-4) s(-1)). However, with the onset of covalent chemistry with the best of these inhibitors (e.g. inhibitor 3), very little recovery of activity (<10%) was seen over 48 h of dialysis. We previously reported that broad spectrum MMP inhibitors like GM6001 enhance MT1-MMP-dependent activation of pro-MMP-2 in the presence of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-2. Herein, we show that inhibitor 3, in contrast to GM6001, had no effect on pro-MMP-2 activation by MT1-MMP. Furthermore, inhibitor 3 reduced tumor cell migration and invasion in vitro. These results show that these new inhibitors are promising candidates for selective inhibition of MMPs in animal models of relevant human diseases.

Design, synthesis, and evaluation of a mechanism-based inhibitor for gelatinase A.

[structure: see text] Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), of which 26 are known, have been implicated in a number of pathological conditions, including tumor metastasis. We have previously described the first mechanism-based inhibitor for MMPs (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122, 6799-6800), which in chemistry mediated by the active site zinc ion selectively and covalently inhibits MMP-2, -3, and -9. Computational analyses indicated that this selectivity in inhibition of MMPs could be improved by design of new variants of the inhibitor class. We report herein the syntheses of methyl 2-(4-{4-[(2-thiiranylpropyl)sulfonyl]phenoxy}phenyl)acetate (3) and 2-(4-{4-[(2-thiiranylpropyl)sulfonyl]phenoxy}phenyl)acetic acid (4), and show that compound 3 serves as a mechanism-based inhibitor exclusively for MMP-2. This molecule should prove useful in delineating the functions of MMP-2 in biological systems.

Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 protects human breast epithelial cells against intrinsic apoptotic cell death via the focal adhesion kinase/phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and MAPK signaling pathway.

Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP-1) is a natural protease inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Recent studies revealed a novel function of TIMP-1 as a potent inhibitor of apoptosis in mammalian cells. However, the mechanisms by which TIMP-1 exerts its anti-apoptotic effect are not understood. Here we show that TIMP-1 activates cell survival signaling pathways involving focal adhesion kinase, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, and ERKs in human breast epithelial cells to TIMP-1. TIMP-1-activated cell survival signaling down-regulates caspase-mediated classical apoptotic pathways induced by a variety of stimuli including anoikis, staurosporine exposure, and growth factor withdrawal. Consistently, down-regulation of TIMP-1 expression greatly enhances apoptotic cell death. In a previous study, substitution of the second amino acid residue threonine for glycine in TIMP-1, which confers selective MMP inhibition, was shown to obliterate its anti-apoptotic activity in activated hepatic stellate cells suggesting that the anti-apoptotic activity of TIMP-1 is dependent on MMP inhibition. Here we show that the same mutant inhibits apoptosis of human breast epithelial cells, suggesting different mechanisms of TIMP-1 regulation of apoptosis depending on cell types. Neither TIMP-2 nor a synthetic MMP inhibitor protects breast epithelial cells from intrinsic apoptotic cell death. Furthermore, TIMP-1 enhances cell survival in the presence of the synthetic MMP inhibitor. Taken together, the present study unveils some of the mechanisms mediating the anti-apoptotic effects of TIMP-1 in human breast epithelial cells through TIMP-1-specific signal transduction pathways.

Pro-MMP-9 activation by the MT1-MMP/MMP-2 axis and MMP-3: role of TIMP-2 and plasma membranes.

MMP-9 (gelatinase B) is produced in a latent form (pro-MMP-9) that requires activation to achieve catalytic activity. Previously, we showed that MMP-2 (gelatinase A) is an activator of pro-MMP-9 in solution. However, in cultured cells pro-MMP-9 remains in a latent form even in the presence of MMP-2. Since pro-MMP-2 is activated on the cell surface by MT1-MMP in a process that requires TIMP-2, we investigated the role of the MT1-MMP/MMP-2 axis and TIMPs in mediating pro-MMP-9 activation. Full pro-MMP-9 activation was accomplished via a cascade of zymogen activation initiated by MT1-MMP and mediated by MMP-2 in a process that is tightly regulated by TIMPs. We show that TIMP-2 by regulating pro-MMP-2 activation can also act as a positive regulator of pro-MMP-9 activation. Also, activation of pro-MMP-9 by MMP-2 or MMP-3 was more efficient in the presence of purified plasma membrane fractions than activation in a soluble phase or in live cells, suggesting that concentration of pro-MMP-9 in the pericellular space may favor activation and catalytic competence.

Design, synthesis, and characterization of potent, slow-binding inhibitors that are selective for gelatinases.

Gelatinases have been shown to play a key role in angiogenesis and tumor metastasis. Small molecular weight synthetic inhibitors for these enzymes are highly sought for potential use as anti-metastatic agents. Virtually all of the known inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are broad spectrum. We report herein the synthesis and kinetic characterization of two compounds, 4-(4-phenoxyphenylsulfonyl)butane-1,2-dithiol (compound 1) and 5-(4-phenoxyphenylsulfonyl)pentane-1,2-dithiol (compound 2), that are potent and selective gelatinase inhibitors. These compounds are slow, tight-binding inhibitors of gelatinases (MMP-2 and MMP-9) with K(i) values in the nanomolar range. In contrast, competitive inhibition of the catalytic domain of membrane-type 1 metalloproteinase (MMP-14(cat)) with comparable K(i) values (K(i) approximately 200 nm) was observed. Binding to stromelysin (MMP-3) was substantially weaker, with K(i) values in the micromolar range (K(i) approximately 10 microm). No binding to matrilysin (MMP-7) and collagenase 1 (MMP-1) was detected at inhibitor concentrations up to 60 microm. We have previously shown that synthetic MMP inhibitors work synergistically with TIMP-2 in the promotion of pro-MMP-2 activation by MT1-MMP in a process that depends on the affinity of the inhibitor toward MT1-MMP. It is shown herein that the dithiols are significantly less efficient (>100-fold) than marimastat, a broad-spectrum MMP inhibitor, in enhancing pro-MMP-2 activation in cells infected to express MT1-MMP, consistent with the lower affinity of the dithiols toward MT1-MMP. Thus, in contrast to broad-spectrum MMP inhibitors, the dithiols are less likely to promote MT1-MMP-dependent pro-MMP-2 activation in the presence of TIMP-2, while maintaining their ability to inhibit active MMP-2 effectively.