Fragmented hyaluronan is an autocrine factor potentiating cancer cell invasion supported by HAS2 -CD44/hyaluronidase-2 system on the plasma membrane

本研究表明，片段化的23 kDa HA可增强细胞运动性并改变上皮细胞的形状。我们的研究还表明，透明质酸酶-2介导的分解代谢可能在上皮细胞中与CD44相关的LMWHA（约20 kDa）的产生中发挥重要作用。这表明碎片化血凝素可能在自分泌/旁分泌机制中起中介作用。我们的研究表明，LMWHA-CD44相互作用引发的信号诱导癌细胞进行上皮-间质转化（EMT）的表型，扩大了我们对HA在癌细胞生物学中的功能的理解。

Here we show that fragmented 23 kDa HA elicits enhanced cell motility and changes the shape of epithelial cells. Our study also indicates that hyaluronidase-2-mediated catabolism could play a significant role in the generation of LMWHA (about 20 kDa) with the association of CD44 in epithelial cells. This indicates the possibility that fragmented HA acts as a mediator in the autocrine/paracrine mechanism. Our study showed that signals initiated by LMWHA-CD44 interactions induce the phenotypes of cancer cells undergoing epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), expanding our understanding of the functions of HA in cancer cell biology.