The Expressions Of UPA And MMP-7 And The Research Of The Relationship Between Them In Colorectal Carcinoma

Background and objective:Metastasis is the main biological character of the malignant tumor, and the major causes of morbidity and death for cancer patients. Metastasis is a multi-step process and the major step is considered to be the degradation of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and the basement membrance (BM).uPA plays an important role in the degradation of ECM and the remodeling of tissues. Plasmin can degrade many components of ECM and BM and promote the invasion and the metastasis of malignant tumor cells. In addition, uPA also acts as an initiator in cell signal transduction, and then cause an intracellular cascade transduction of the signal. By this manner, uPA can regulate the growth,reproduction and differentiation of cells. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of zinc-dependent endoproteinase whose enzymatic activity is directed against component of the ECM. Degrading almost all components of extracellular matrix, the...