Maspin, a Serpin with Tumor-Suppressing Activity in Human Mammary Epithelial Cells

A gene encoding a protein related to the serpin family of protease inhibitors was identified as a candidate tumor suppressor gene that may play a role in human breast cancer. The gene product, called maspin, is expressed in normal mammary epithelial cells but not in most mammary carcinoma cell lines...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1994-01, Vol.263 (5146), p.526-529
Main Authors: Zou, Zhiqiang, Anisowicz, Anthony, Mary J. C. Hendrix, Thor, Ann, Neveu, Mark, Sheng, Shijie, Rafidi, Kristina, Seftor, Elisabeth, Sager, Ruth
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino Acid Sequence
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Breast - chemistry
Breast cancer
Breast ductal carcinoma
Breast Neoplasms - chemistry
Breast Neoplasms - pathology
Breasts
Cancer metastasis
Cell lines
Down-Regulation
Epithelial cells
Epithelium - chemistry
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gene Expression
Genes, Tumor Suppressor
Humans
Lymph nodes
Metastasis
Mice
Mice, Nude
Molecular and cellular biology
Molecular genetics
Molecular Sequence Data
Neoplasm Metastasis
Neoplasm Transplantation
Neoplasms, Experimental - pathology
Proteins - analysis
Proteins - genetics
Proteins - physiology
Sequence Analysis
Serpins
Serpins - analysis
Serpins - genetics
Serpins - physiology
Stromal cells
Transfection
Tumor cell line
Tumor Cells, Cultured
Tumor suppressor genes
Tumors
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Summary:A gene encoding a protein related to the serpin family of protease inhibitors was identified as a candidate tumor suppressor gene that may play a role in human breast cancer. The gene product, called maspin, is expressed in normal mammary epithelial cells but not in most mammary carcinoma cell lines. Transfection of MDA-MB-435 mammary carcinoma cells with the maspin gene did not alter the cells' growth properties in vitro, but reduced the cells' ability to induce tumors and metastasize in nude mice and to invade through a basement membrane matrix in vitro. Analysis of human breast cancer specimens revealed that loss of maspin expression occurred most frequently in advanced cancers. These results support the hypothesis that maspin functions as a tumor suppressor.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.8290962