Fig. 1

Dysregulation of MMPs and associations with cancer hallmarks. a Seven MMP groups based on their typical structures. b Differential score of MMP groups across 14 cancer types (Y-axis) compared to paired normal samples (fold change > 1.5; paired two-sided Student’s t test p < 0.05). Pie chart in the right panel shows the percentage of cancer types with significant upregulation (red), downregulation (blue), and non-significant alteration (gray). c, d MMP2/9 score correlated with c T cell–tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and d regulatory T cells (Tregs). Pie charts show the percentage of cancer types with positive (red) and non-significant (gray) correlation. e Spearman’s correlation of MMP groups and inhibitory immune checkpoints. f, g T cell–mediated cancer cell killing assay. f SK-MEL-28 melanoma cells co-cultured with activated T cells for 48 h with or without SB-3CT (12.5, 25 μM) or IFNγ (200 ng/mL) were subjected to crystal violet staining. SK-MEL-28-to-T cell ratio, 1:3. g Statistical analysis. Results are mean ± s.d. NS, p > 0.05, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001, as determined by one-way ANOVA and Dunnett’s multiple comparison test