ORIGINAL ARTICLES  RADIOPHARMACOLOGY 

The Quarterly Journal of Nuclear Medicine 2003 September;47(3):201-8

Copyright © 2009 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Imaging matrix metalloproteinase expression in tumors

Li W. P., Anderson C. J.

Division of Radiological Sciences Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA

Matrix met­al­lop­ro­tei­nas­es (MMPs) are ­zinc-depen­dent secret­ed or trans­mem­brane ­enzymes con­sti­tut­ing a fam­i­ly of ­over 21 pro­te­o­lyt­ic mem­bers ­that are ­capable of selec­tive­ly digest­ing a ­wide spec­trum of ­both extra­cel­lu­lar ­matrix (ECM) and non­ma­trix pro­teins. MMPs ­play a crit­i­cal ­role in ­tumor ­growth, angio­gen­e­sis, and met­a­stas­ic pro­cess­es. MMP inhib­i­tors (MMPIs) ­have ­been exten­sive­ly inves­ti­gat­ed as ­anti-­tumor ­drugs, ­although the clin­i­cal ­trials ­thus far ­have ­been dis­ap­point­ing. In ­order to bet­ter under­stand the ­role of MMPs in can­cer ­growth and metas­ta­sis, as ­well as ­improve the ther­a­peu­tic effi­ca­cy of MMPIs, ­there is a ­need to devel­op new pro­ce­dures to ­assess and/or mon­i­tor MMP activ­ity in ­vivo. In addi­tion to deter­min­ing wheth­er MMPs are ­present in ­tumors, it ­would be desir­able to ­have an imag­ing ­agent ­that bet­ter ­probes oth­er pro­cess­es asso­ciat­ed ­with MMP over­pro­duc­tion, includ­ing angio­gen­e­sis and the estab­lish­ment of the ­growth of met­a­stat­ic ­lesions in dis­tant ­organ ­sites. In ­this ­paper we ­review the stud­ies relat­ing to the ­recent devel­op­ment of in ­vivo imag­ing of MMP expres­sion. One of the pur­pos­es of ­this ­review is to dis­cuss the cur­rent stat­us of imag­ing MMP expres­sion, ­which ­includes the ­types of trac­ers ­being devel­oped and the ­types of imag­ing modal­ities avail­able. Although imag­ing MMP expres­sion is a rel­a­tive­ly new ­area of ­research, the ­progress ­thus far is high­ly prom­is­ing.