Western blotting (Fig. 4c) and immunohistochemical assays (Fig. 4d) revealed the upregulation of invasion-related proteins MMP2 and MMP9, and proliferation-related protein Cyclin D1 in the CEP55-overexpressing tumour tissues, which coincided with the aggressive phenotype displayed by Capan-1/CEP55 cells. This evidence concerns the gene MMP2 and neoplasm.