Matriptase critically contributes to breast cancer progression via activation of the HGF/c-MET signaling pathway; upon proteolytic cleavage by matriptase, pro-HGF is converted to active HGF, which initiates c-MET signaling and activates downstream targets such as PI3K/AKT and Gab1, thereby contributing to cancer progression37. Here, HGF is linked to breast cancer.