Gelatinases belong to a group of enzymes known as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Gelatinases A and B (MMP-2 and MMP-9, respectively) are the enzymes with the highest ability to destroy collagen, primarily type IV collagen, which is an essential component of the base membrane. Hence, it can be assumed that they are involved, among other things, with the metastasis process of cancer. As a result, the objective of this study was to assess the presence, activity, and expression of selected gelatinases in human renal cancer. Healthy (n = 20) and clear-cell kidney cancer tissue samples (G2 n = 10, G3 n = 10) were analyzed. The presence and content of MMPs were measured using the Western blot and ELISA methods, respectively. The activity (actual and specific) was analyzed with a fluorimetric method. The presence of both investigated enzymes was demonstrated in the representative zymogram. MMP-9 showed the most intensive saturation. It has been observed that both gelatinases occur primarily in high molecular complexes in the human kidney, regardless of whether it is a control or tumor tissue. Both gelatinases were present in comparable amounts in healthy tissues of the kidney. MMP-9 showed a higher content than MMP-2 in both renal cancer grades, but we observed the enhanced activity of both gelatinases with an increase in the grade of renal cancer. A higher MMP-9 content and, on the other hand, lower specific activity in the cancer tissue suggest that MMP-9 is predominantly present in an inactive form in renal cancer. The higher activity of MMP-9 demonstrated using the zymography method may be a cause of different values of activity that depend on the phase of the carcinogenic process. The present study revealed changes in the tested gelatinases in healthy and cancerous tissues of renal cell carcinoma. Therefore, it can be concluded that matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9 are enzymes directly involved in carcinogenesis, and hence, it seems that MMPs may have potential in the diagnosis and treatment of renal carcinoma.
Keywords: MMP-2; MMP-9; biomarker; cancer; gelatinase; renal carcinoma.