Martin, Kathryn

Various key players have been implicated in the development of pancreatic cancer, among these is a member of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family of proteolytic enzymes, MMP 14. This enzyme’s proteolytic activities have been implicated in cancer proliferation, invasion, and metastasis; however, little is known about its non-proteolytic and/or intracellular roles. Furthermore, research to date has focused on in vitro cell culture conditions under normoxic conditions, yet cancer exists physiologically under hypoxic conditions. Under physiological hypoxic conditions members of the MMP family have been associated with altered cellular behavior. Thus, there is a need to elucidate MMP-14’s roles under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions. This study seeks to: (1) characterize the expression of MMP-14 in representative pancreatic cancer cell lines in relation to other cancer associated MMPs; (2) elucidate the impact of hypoxic conditions on MMP-14 expression and/or functionality; and (3) monitor the differences in MMP-14 at both the gene and protein expression levels.