The family of proprotein convertases has been recently implicated in tumorigenesis and metastasis in animal models. However, these studies have not yet been completely corroborated in human tumors. Here, we show that mRNA, protein expression, and protein cleavage profiles of proprotein convertases 1 and 2 are altered in liver colorectal metastasis, compared to unaffected and normal liver. Active PC1 is overexpressed in tumor, correlating with its mRNA profile. Moreover, the enhanced PC2 processing pattern in tumor correlates with the overexpression of its specific chaperone 7B2, which in turn may represent a target for early diagnosis and treatment. The increased PC2 maturation, as well as the overexpression and altered processing of PC1 may be either a cause or a consequence for the observed metastasic phenotype. Nevertheless, they may result in the alteration of the secretory pathway, which could therefore, modify the cellular microenvironment and thus favor tumor growth and/or metastasis.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.80889 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | Tzimas, George N. |
| Contributors | Metrakos, Peter (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Division of Surgical Research.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002141347, proquestno: AAIMQ98754, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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