Interplay of cell adhesion and matrix proteolysis in barrier-braking invadopodia of tumor cells (A09)

• Subject Area: Anatomy and Physiology
• Term: from 2014 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 194468054

Cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix and its proteolysis by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are essential to metastasis. In cancer cells, fibrillar type I collagen and presumably newly synthesized VE cadherin promote surface expression of MMP14, which can be measured with a FRET probe. Both ways of stimulating MMP14 will be studied in detail, particularly with regard to the supramolecular orientation of collagen fibrils and the cadherin switch typical of cancer cells. Translationally, MMP14 will be investigated for its potential to activate cancer-selective endocytosis of drugs in metastatic and vessel-integrated cancer cells.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1009: Breaking Barriers - Immune Cells and Pathogens at Cell/Matrix Barriers
• Applicant Institution: Universität Münster
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Johannes Andreas Eble