Changing views of the role of matrix metalloproteinases in metastasis

Metastatic spread of cancer continues to be the greatest barrier to cancer cure. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of metastasis is crucial for the design and effective use of novel therapeutic strategies to combat metastases. One class of molecules that has been repeatedly implicated in metastasis is the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). In this review, we re-examine the evidence that MMPs are associated with metastasis and that they make a functional contribution to the process. Initially, it was believed that the major role of MMPs in metastasis was to facilitate the breakdown of physical barriers to metastasis, thus promoting invasion and entry into and out of blood or lymphatic vessels (intravasation, extravasation). However, recent evidence suggests that MMPs may have a more complex role in metastasis and that they may make important contributions at other steps in the metastatic process. Studies using intravital videomicroscopy, as well as experiments in which levels of MMPs or their inhibitors (tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases TIMPs) are manipulated genetically or pharmacologically, suggest that MMPs are key regulators of growth of tumors, at both primary and metastatic sites. On the basis of this evidence, a new view of the functional role of MMPs in metastasis is presented, which suggests that MMPs are important in creating and maintaining an environment that supports the initiation and maintenance of growth of primary and metastatic tumors. Further clarification of the mechanisms by which MMPs regulate growth of primary and metastatic tumors will be important in the development of novel therapeutic strategies against metastases.