Editorial Comment on: ADAM9 Expression is a Significant and Independent Prognostic Marker of PSA Relapse in Prostate Cancer

摘要

ADAM9 (a disintegrin and metalloprotease-9) is a membrane-anchored metalloproteinase that plays a key role in the ectodermal shedding of growth factors. Many growth factors and cytokines, including all ligands for epidermal growth factor receptor, are synthesized as membrane-anchored proteins.ADAM9 and other members of this family are responsible for catalyzing their release from the cell by ectodermal shedding, a process vital for cell-to-cell communication and for cellular homeostasis. ADAM9 is also a cell adhesion molecule that interacts with the integrin av(beta)5 and that may be involved in controlling cell invasion. The elevated levels of this protein observed in many common neoplasms, including prostate, suggests a role for this protein in the development or progression of cancer, a view supported by the recent observation that the ADAM9 gene is both amplified and over-expressed in human breast cancer .