ArticleCancer science2023
Matrix metalloproteinase-21 promotes metastasis via increasing the recruitment and M2 polarization of macrophages in HCC.
Article in Cancer science, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- A guide to the types, structures, and multifaceted functions of matrix metalloproteinases in cancer.The FEBS journal · 2026Review
- Metal-based nanoparticles for reprogramming macrophage polarization: Advances in immunomodulatory nanotherapeutics.International journal of pharmaceutics: X · 2026Review
- Polarization of Tumor Cells and Tumor-Associated Macrophages: Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Targets.MedComm · 2025Review
- Cathepsin C correlates with M2 macrophage infiltration and regulates the tumor growth and metastasis in non-small cell lung cancer.BMC cancer · 2025Article
- Bridging Immune Evasion and Vascular Dynamics for Novel Therapeutic Frontiers in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.Cancers · 2025Review
- Cancer-associated fibroblast-derived MMP11 promotes tumor progression in pancreatic cancer.Cancer science · 2025Article
- The impact of the tumor microenvironment on macrophages.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Integration of histopathological images and immunological analysis to predict M2 macrophage infiltration and prognosis in patients with serous ovarian cancer.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- Prognostic and Immune Landscape Analysis of Ubiquitination-related Genes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Based on Bulk and Single-cell RNA Sequencing Data.Journal of Cancer · 2024Article
- Matrix metalloproteinase-21 promotes metastasis via increasing the recruitment and M2 polarization of macrophages in HCC.Cancer science · 2023Article
- Mechanisms of tumor-associated macrophages affecting the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Review
- Comprehensive analysis and immune landscape of chemokines- and chemokine receptors-based signature in hepatocellular carcinoma.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Article
- Role of exosomes in hepatocellular carcinoma and the regulation of traditional Chinese medicine.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Review
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
MMP-21 is a newly identified member of the matrix metalloproteinase family and has been reported to regulate both embryonic development and tumor progression. However, the roles of MMP-21 in hemofiltrate C-C chemokine (HCC) remain largely unclear. In this study, we used western blot, qPCR and immunohistochemistry (IHC) to determine the upregulation of MMP-21 in HCC tissues, and showed that the increase in MMP-21 was associated with vascular invasion and poor prognosis. Although changing levels of MMP-21 in HCC cell lines had no significant effect on cell migration or invasion abilities in in vitro transwell tests, both IHC analysis and in vivo mouse models proved that upregulated MMP-21 promoted metastasis. Functional enrichments of MMP-21 using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data suggested that MMP-21 might regulate metastasis via macrophages. Further experiments proved that MMP-21 enhanced macrophage recruitment by increasing CCL-14 levels and promoted M2-type polarization of macrophage by elevating the expression of CSF-1 and FGF-1. Taken together, this study revealed that MMP-21 controlled the tumor microenvironment remodeling and functional regulation of macrophages to regulate HCC metastasis.
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