Interstitial collagenase, gelatinases A and B and their endogenous inhibitors in squamous cell cervical carcinomas

Interstitial collagenase and gelatinases are matrix metalloproteinases (MMP), which play the key role in tumor invasion and metastasis. The aim of this study was to elucidate the peculiarities of expression of interstitial collagenase (MMP-1), gelatinases A and B (MMP-2 and MMP-9) and their endogenous tissue inhibitors TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 as invasive factors of squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) of human cervical cancer. The study was carried out using 24 specimens of SCC and 11 specimens of adjacent to tumor morphologically normal tissue. All carcinoma specimens expressed E7 HPV-16 gene. It was shown that the increase of MMP-1 and MMP-9 expression and low of TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 expression makes the main contribution to the destructive (invasive) potential of SCC. The change of MMP-2 expression is not so significant and it is less influenced to the destructive potential. Moreover, substantial expression of MMP-1, MMP-2 and MMP-9 was registered in the specimens of morphologically normal adjoining to tumor tissue. This expression was found to make an additional contribution to the destructive potential of cervical tumor.