| Summary: | Matrix metalloproteinases (<i>MMP</i>s) represent a family of enzymes capable of biocatalytically breaking down the structural and functional proteins responsible for extracellular matrix (ECM) integrity. This capability is widely used in physiological processes; however, imbalanced MMP activity can trigger the onset and progression of various pathological changes, including the neoplasmic transformation of different cell types. We sought to uncover molecular mechanisms underlying alterations in transcriptional profiles of genes coding for <i>MMP</i>s, which were comprehensively identified in equine adult dermal tissue bioptates, sarcoid-derived explants, and ex vivo expanded adult cutaneous fibroblast cell (ACFC) lines subjected to inducible oncogenic transformation into sarcoid-like cells. The results strongly support the hypothesis that the transcriptional activity of <i>MMP</i> genes correlates with molecular modifications arising in equine dermal cells during their conversion into sarcoid cells. The alterations in <i>MMP</i> transcription signatures occurs in both sarcoid tissues and experimentally transformed equine ACFC lines expressing <i>BPV1-E4^E1</i> transgene, which were characterized by gene up- and down-regulation patterns.
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