SPARC Promotes Cell Invasion In Vivo by Decreasing Type IV Collagen Levels in the Basement Membrane.

ABSTRACT: Overexpression of SPARC, a collagen-binding glycoprotein, is strongly associated with tumor invasion through extracellular matrix in many aggressive cancers. SPARC regulates numerous cellular processes including integrin-mediated cell adhesion, cell signaling pathways, and extracellular matrix assembly; however, the mechanism by which SPARC promotes cell invasion in vivo remains unclear. A main obstacle in understanding SPARC function has been the difficulty of visualizing and experimentally examining the dynamic interactions between invasive cells, extracellular matrix and SPARC in native tissue environments. Using the model of anchor cell invasion through the basement membrane (BM) extracellular matrix in Caenorhabditis elegans, we find that SPARC overexpression is highly pro-invasive an

SUBMITTER: Morrissey MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4771172 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature