Collagenase-3 (MMP-13) expression by inflamed mucosa in inflammatory bowel disease.

Objective: To determine whether the expression of collagenase-3 (MMP-13) in biopsies from patients with inflammatory bowel disease is correlated with histological inflammation parameters.

Material And Methods: Fifty-nine patients with inflammatory bowel disease were included in the study. The control group comprised 20 patients free of inflammatory disease and ten patients with acute diverticulitis.

Prognostic value of cytosolyc cathepsin D content in resectable gastric cancer.

Background And Aims: Cathepsin D (Cath-D) is an aspartyl protease involved in protein catabolism and tissue remodelling. In the present article, we evaluate the tumor content of Cath-D in resectable gastric carcinomas and its relation with clinical and pathological parameters, as well as its prognostic significance.

Method: This prospective study included a series of 60 patients with primary gastric adenocarcinoma, who first underwent a complete surgical resection of their tumors and then were evaluated for disease recurrence and survival status during a mean follow-up period of 41.