Expression of MT1, 2, 3-MMP in invasive cervical cancer

Objective: Threre are several proteolytic enzymes such as Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMP), which are involved in tumor invasion and metastasis. The aim of this study was to determine the exprssion of Membranous Type MMPs (MT-MMPs) and investigate the relationship between their expression and questioned whether their expression is related to stages and other prognostic factors of cervical cancer. Methods: The cervical and cervical cancer tissues were taken from the patients; healthy women (n=14), and the patients with cervical cancer (n=35). The protein expression of MT1, 2, 3-MMP with MMP-2 was examined using immunohistochemical staining and western blotting. MMP-2 activity was measured by zymogram. Results: The expression of MT1, 2, 3-MMP was higher in cervical cancer than that of normal cervix (p0.05). But there were significant correlations between MT1-MMP, MT3-MMP and lymph node involvemen t (p