JUN and neoplasm: Inhibition of protease activity has been shown to suppress tumor metastasis, with studies demonstrating that targeting the PI3K/Akt and JNK1/2 signaling pathways reduces MMP 2, MMP 9, urokinase plasminogen activator (u-PA), NF-κB, and AP-1 mRNA and protein expression in tumor cells, thereby impeding tumor invasion and metastasis.