Pathophysiological Aspects of Proteases

authors	Bastos, P; Magalhães, S; Lara-Santos, L; Ferreira, R; Vitorino, R
editors	Sajal ChakrabortiNaranjan S. Dhalla
chapter title	The Role of Urinary Proteases in Bladder Cancer
nationality	International
abstract	Bladder cancer (BCa) is one of the most prevalent malignancies worldwide. Risk factors for BCa are well established and include smoking and infections, which can lead to immune system activation, altered gene expression patterns, proteolytic activity, tissue damage, and, ultimately, cancer development. Urine has become one of the most attractive diagnosis samples, and, notably, urine profiling by mass spectrometry allows the simultaneously analysis of multiple enzymes and their interactors, substrates, inhibitors, and regulators, providing an integrative view of enzymatic dynamics. Most BCa-associated enzymatic alterations take place at the level of proteases, being MMP-9, MMP-2, urokinase-type plasminogen activator, cathepsin D, and cathepsin G already related to BCa development and progression. Herein, we overview the role of proteases and the classes more studied in BCa pathogenesis, as well as the methodologies used for assessing protease amount and activity in urine samples, highlighting its advantages and limitations, and the value of urinary proteases as disease biomarkers.
isbn	978-981-10-6141-7
year published	2017
book digital object identifier (doi)	10.1007/978-981-10-6141-7_4