Resumen:
Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) constitute a large group of endoproteases that play
important functions during embryonic development, tumor metastasis and angiogenesis by
degrading components of the extracellular matrix. Within this family, we focused our study
on Mt4-mmp (also called Mmp17) that belongs to a distinct subset that is anchored to the
cell surface via a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) moiety and with the catalytic site
exposed to the extracellular space. Information about its function and substrates is very limited
to date, and little has been reported on its role in the developing embryo. Here, we report
a detailed expression analysis of Mt4-mmp during mouse embryonic development by using
a LacZ reporter transgenic mouse line. We showed that Mt4-mmp is detected from early
stages of development to postnatal stages following a dynamic and restricted pattern of
expression. Mt4-mmp was first detected at E8.5 limited to the intersomitic vascularization,
the endocardial endothelium and the dorsal aorta. Mt4-mmpLacZ/+ cells were also observed
in the neural crest cells, somites, floor plate and notochord at early stages. From E10.5,
expression localized in the limb buds an...