Inhibition of PCs can be obtained by using competitive inhibitors such as chloro-methyl-ketone (CMK). This inhibitor decreases and even abolishes the invasive/malignant phenotype of tumor cells by inhibiting the activation of invasion and metastasis-associated gene products such as MT1-MMP, stromelysin 3, TGF-b and IGFR1.
CMK was also used in vivo by topical skin administration. Using this modality we were able to decrease 40% the number of chemically-induced mouse skin cancers as well as diminish 60% the respective tumor volumes.
Another unrelated gene, discovered during differential display together with PCs is VILIP-1, a member of the neuronal Ca++ sensor protein family. VILIP-1 is able to act as a tumor suppressor in mouse skin squamous carcinoma cells inhibiting cell proliferation, adhesion and invasion by modulating cAMP levels as well as inactivating MMP-9 and RhoA activity.
ecently, we have found that this gene is silenced in human tumors due to epigenetic changes including promoter hypermethylation and histone modification.
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