Matrix metalloproteinase-19 is highly expressed in astroglial tumors and promotes invasion of glioma cells.

Glial tumors exhibit a high morbidity and mortality because of their invasive nature. Matrix metalloproteinase 19 (MMP19) is a secreted protease that together with epilysin (MMP28) forms a structural subgroup of MMPs. We analyzed their expression by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry in tumor and normal control brain tissues and in glioblastoma (GB) cells and performed MMP19 silencing functional assays. Matrix metalloproteinase 28 was transcribed to the same extent in normal brain samples and gliomas but was undetectable in GB cell lines. In contrast, MMP19 was detected by immunohistochemistry in normal brain samples only in endothelial cells but was found at high levels in astrocytomas of different World Health Organization grades in situ and in GB cells in vitro. Matrix metalloproteinase 19 was upregulated in GB cells after exposure to proinflammatory cytokines. In Transwell invasion assays, MMP19-silenced cells migrated more slowly through laminin-, basal lamina-, and brevican-coated membranes than controls. Matrix metalloproteinase 19-silenced GB cells also migrated into brain tissue slices compared with control cells. Brevican, a brain-specific proteoglycan and major component of brain extracellular matrix, was degraded by recombinant human MMP19. Taken together, these results indicate that MMP19 is highly expressed in proliferating astrocytoma/glioma cells, and that its expression may facilitate their invasion through brain extracellular matrix components.