Antitumor Properties of Matrikines of Different Origins: Prospects and Problems of Their Application

• Published in: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Main Authors: Aleksandr Popov, Emma Kozlovskaya, Tatyana Rutckova, Olga Styshova, Aleksey Vakhrushev, Elena Kupera, Ludmila Tekutyeva
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2023
• Subjects: matrikines (MKs); collagen; antitumor activity; matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs); echinoderms; Biology (General); QH301-705.5; Chemistry; QD1-999; Red king crab
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24119502; https://doaj.org/article/5e3635edded745bdbb8e870d6c2a05b6

Matrikines (MKs) can be a rich source of functional nutrition components and additional therapy, thereby contributing to human health care and reducing the risk of developing serious diseases, including cancer. Currently, functionally active MKs as products of enzymatic transformation by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are used for various biomedical purposes. Due to the absence of toxic side effects, low species specificity, relatively small size, and presence of various targets at the cell membranes, MKs often exhibit antitumor properties and, therefore, are promising agents for antitumor combination therapy. This review summarizes and analyzes the current data on the antitumor activity of MKs of different origins, discusses the problems and prospects for their therapeutic use, and evaluates the experimental results of studying the antitumor properties of MKs from different echinoderm species generated with the help of a complex of proteolytic enzymes from red king crab Paralithodes camtschatica. Special attention is paid to the analysis of possible mechanisms of the antitumor action of various functionally active MKs, products of the enzymatic activity of various MMPs, and the existing problems for their use in antitumor therapy.