ADAMTS expression in colorectal cancer.

ADAMTSs are a family of secreted proteinases that share the metalloproteinase domain with matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). By acting on a large panel of extracellular substrates, they control several cell functions such as fusion, adhesion, proliferation and migration. Through their thrombospondin motifs they also possess anti-angiogenic properties.

Chondroitin synthases I, II, III and chondroitin sulfate glucuronyltransferase expression in colorectal cancer.

Glycosaminoglycans undergo significant structural alterations in cancer, namely in terms of their sulfation pattern and hydrodynamic size. Numerous studies have focused on this issue, and have demonstrated that glycosaminoglycans play a crucial role in cancer growth and invasion. However, the majority of the enzymes involved in glycosaminoglycan alterations have yet to be examined in detail.

Involvement of hyaluronidases in colorectal cancer.

Background: Hyaluronidases belong to a class of enzymes that degrade, predominantly, hyaluronan. These enzymes are known to be involved in physiological and pathological processes, such as tumor growth, infiltration and angiogenesis, but their exact role in tumor promotion or suppression is not clear yet. Advanced colorectal cancer is associated with elevated amounts of hyaluronan of varying size.

Alterations of glycosaminoglycan disaccharide content and composition in colorectal cancer: structural and expressional studies.

The glycosaminoglycans are implicated in many processes important in the growth and progression of malignant tumors. In the present study glycosaminoglycans were purified from healthy, macroscopically normal and cancerous specimens of different anatomic sites and different stages of cancer and analyzed by FACE after chondroitinases and sulfatases digestion. The cancerous samples contained increased levels of 6-sulfated unsaturated disaccharides compared to macroscopically normal and healthy samples, the increase being stage-related.

The greatly increased amounts of accumulated versican and decorin with specific post-translational modifications may be closely associated with the malignant phenotype of pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic carcinoma (PC) is a cancer type with highly malignant growth and dissemination pattern of which the mechanisms are poorly understood. However, the malignant phenotype is closely linked to extracellular matrix (ECM) of which proteoglycans (PGs) and hyaluronan (HA) play a crucial role in the control of tumor progression and metastasis. In this study, we demonstrated that versican and decorin, two different PGs with contradictory roles and functions in the pathobiology of cancer, were the main matrix PGs in PC presenting a great increase 27- and 7-fold, respectively, in comparison to normal pancreas (NP).

Changes of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) in the serum of patients with autoimmune diseases: association with age and disease activity.

Matrix metalloproteinases participate in the degradation of the extracellular matrix proteins and are regulated mainly by their respective tissue inhibitors. In a variety of inflammatory connective tissue diseases, variations in the tissue content of both metalloproteinases and tissue inhibitors have been reported. The purpose of this study was to determine the serum levels of metalloproteinases and tissue inhibitors in patients with autoimmune diseases and compare with those of healthy individuals of similar age.