POSITIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN INHIBITORS OF MATRIX METALLOPROTEINASE-1AND MATRIX METALLOPROTEINASES IN MALIGNANT OVARIAN TUMOR-TISSUES

To investigate the relation between matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) an d tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP) in malignant ovarian tumor, MMP and TIMP activities in conditioned media of 16 malignant ov arian tumor tissues and six normal ovaries were detected by zymography and reverse zymography, respectively and were quantitated with a dens itometer. TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 were detected in all normal and malignant ovarian tumor tissues by reverse zymography. In normal ovaries, the in tensity of TIMP-2 bands was stronger than TIMP-1, but in malignant tum or tissues those of TIMP-1 were stronger, The ratios of TIMP-1 to TIMP -2 and MMP-9 to MMP-2 were significantly higher in malignant tumor tis sues than in normal ovaries (P < 0.001), TIMP activity consisting of T IMP-1 and TIMP-2 correlated significantly to MMP activity of MMP-2 and MMP-9 (r = 0.67, P < 0.005). There was a significant correlation betw een TIMP-1 activity and MMP activity (P = 0.72, P < 0.001), but no cor relation was observed between TIMP-2 activity and MMP activity. The hi gh level of TIMP-1 appeared to be related to malignant phenotype in ov aries as well as the high level of MMP-9. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ir eland Ltd.