Therapeutic Potential of Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibition in Breast Cancer.

ABSTRACT: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of zinc endopeptidases that cleave nearly all components of the extracellular matrix as well as many other soluble and cell-associated proteins. MMPs have been implicated in normal physiological processes, including development, and in the acquisition and progression of the malignant phenotype. Disappointing results from a series of clinical trials testing small molecule, broad spectrum MMP inhibitors as cancer therapeutics led to a re-evaluation of how MMPs function in the tumor microenvironment, and ongoing research continues to reveal that these proteins play complex roles in cancer development and progression. It is now clear that effective targeting of MMPs for therapeutic benefit will require selective inhibition of specific MMPs. Here, w

SUBMITTER: Radisky ES 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5621753 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature