The findings show that hepsin promotes invasive prostate tumor growth and metastasis and suggest that active site-directed hepsin inhibition could be effective in prostate cancer therapy.
Direct cleavage of Ln-332 may be one mechanism by which hepsin promotes prostate tumor progression and metastasis, possibly by up-regulating prostate cancer cell motility.
Several studies have shown that hepsin mRNA is significantly elevated in most prostate tumors, as well as a significant fraction of ovarian and renal cell carcinomas and hepatomas.
Some, such as hepsin, not only show increased expression in cancer, but can also provide prognostic information on prostate tumors based on their level of expression.