Description
During malignant disease progression, the extracellular matrix (ECM) of epithelial tumors accumulates inter-molecular cross-links between collagen strands; these cross-links enhance ECM stiffness and trigger tumor cell invasion and dissemination, but the mechanisms that regulate intra-tumoral collagen maturation have not been fully defined. Using a new mouse model of metastatic lung adenocarcinoma driven by mutant K-ras expression and Cdkn1a inactivation, we showed that tumor cell invasion and metastasis are driven by high expression of lysyl hydroxylase 2 (LH2), an enzyme that hydroxylates telomeric lysine (Lys) residues on collagen.