Recent Advances in Targeting the Urokinase Plasminogen Activator with Nanotherapeutics.

The aberrant proteolytic landscape of the tumor microenvironment is a key contributor of cancer progression. Overexpression of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) and/or its associated cell-surface receptor (uPAR) in tumor versus normal tissue is significantly associated with worse clinicopathological features and poorer patient survival across multiple cancer types. This is linked to mechanisms that facilitate tumor cell invasion and migration, via direct and downstream activation of various proteolytic processes that degrade the extracellular matrix─ultimately leading to metastasis.

The Urokinase Plasminogen Activation System in Pancreatic Cancer: Prospective Diagnostic and Therapeutic Targets.

Pancreatic cancer is a highly aggressive malignancy that features high recurrence rates and the poorest prognosis of all solid cancers. The urokinase plasminogen activation system (uPAS) is strongly implicated in the pathophysiology and clinical outcomes of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), which accounts for more than 90% of all pancreatic cancers. Overexpression of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) or its cell surface receptor uPAR is a key step in the acquisition of a metastatic phenotype via multiple mechanisms, including the increased activation of cell surface localised plasminogen which generates the serine protease plasmin.