BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to identify gene polymorphisms of mammary serine protease inhibitor (Maspin) specific to patients with oral cancer susceptibility and clinicopathological status. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Three single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the Maspin gene from 741 patients with oral cancer and 601 non-cancer controls were analyzed by real-time PCR. Th...

Mammary Serine Protease Inhibitor (Maspin) is a unique member of the serpin family with tumor suppressive properties. Maspin is a secreted protein encoded by a class II tumor suppressor gene, expressed in normal prostate luminal and basal cells but reduced or absent in prostate cancer. Currently, there is a consensus that maspin expression in prostate cancer is an indicator of a better prognosi...

The thrombin receptor protease activated receptor-1 (PAR-1) is overexpressed in metastatic melanoma cell lines and tumor specimens. Previously, we demonstrated a significant reduction in tumor growth and experimental lung metastasis after PAR-1 silencing via systemic delivery of siRNA encapsulated into nanoliposomes. Gene expression profiling identified a 40-fold increase in expression of Maspi...

Maspin (SerpinB5) is an epithelial-specific tumor suppressor gene product that displays context-dependent cellular functions. Maspin-deficient mouse models created to date have not definitively established maspin functions critical for cancer suppression. In this study, we generated a mouse strain in which exon 4 of the Maspin gene was deleted, confirming its essential role in development but a...

Maspin is a key tumor suppressor gene in prostate and breast cancers with diverse biological functions. However, how maspin regulates prostate tumor progression is not fully understood. In this study, we have used maspin heterozygous knockout mice to determine the effect of maspin haploinsufficiency on prostate development and tumor progression. We report that loss of one copy of maspin gene in...

Background and objective: According to reports, a serine protease inhibitor (Maspin) suppresses metastasis, invasion and angiogenesis in breast and prostate cancers. Silibinin is a natural polyphenolic flavonoid with anti-cancer activity. We assessed the effects of silibinin on cell viability, maspin and ERα gene expression in MCF-7 cell line. <s...

Maspin suppresses tumor progression by promoting cell adhesion and apoptosis and by inhibiting cell motility. However, its role in tumorigenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. The gene regulation of maspin and its relationship with HCC patient prognosis were investigated in this study. Maspin expression was specifically reduced in HBV-associated patients and correlated with ...

Tumor invasion and metastasis are processes poorly understood at the molecular level. Maspin is a serine protease inhibitor (serpin) with tumor-suppressing function in the mammary gland. Maspin gene expression is decreased with malignancy and is lost in metastatic cells. We show in this report that differential expression of maspin in normal and carcinoma-derived mammary epithelial cells is reg...

We have reported the tumor suppressive effects of manganese-containing superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) in human breast cancer cells. In order to understand the molecular mechanism of this anti-tumor effect, we asked whether tumor suppressor gene(s), especially the ones inhibiting tumor invasion and motility, are involved in MnSOD-induced tumor suppression. Maspin is one of the serpin family of pro...

Since the identification of the human maspin gene, a decade of extensive research revealed the promise of maspin both as a valuable molecular marker for the diagnosis and prognosis of many types of cancers, and as a tumor suppressor at the level of tumor growth, invasion, angiogenesis, metastasis, and tumor sensitivity to drug-induced apoptosis. This review is intended to summarize the consensu...