The in vivo disposition and antitumor efficacy of a newly developed phosphinic matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor (RXP03) were examined. RXP03 potently inhibits MMP-11, MMP-8 and MMP-13, but not MMP-1 and MMP-7. Twenty-four hours after i.p. injection into mice, most of the RXP03 was recovered intact in plasma, feces (biliary excretion) and tumor tissue. Pharmacokinetic parameters indicated that, after an i.p. dose of 100 g/day, the plasma concentration of RXP03 over 24 hr remained higher than the Ki values determined for MMP-11, MMP-8 and MMP-13. Efficacy of RXP03 on the growth of primary tumors induced by s.c. injection of C 26 colon carcinoma cells in mice was observed to depend both on RXP03 doses and treatment schedules. Tumor volumes in mice treated for 18 days with 50, 100 and 150 g/day of RXP03 were decreased compared with control tumor volumes, 100 g/day being the most effective dose. Treatment at higher dose (600 g/day) did not significantly reduce the tumor size as compared to control. Short treatments with RXP03 100 g/day, 3 to 7 days after C 26 inoculation, were more effective on tumor growth than continuous treatment over 18 days. Strikingly, RXP03 treatment started 6 days after the C 26 injection and continued until day 18 led to stimulation of tumor growth, as compared to control. These paradoxical effects, depending on the RXP03 treatment schedule, underline the need to define carefully the spatiotemporal function of each MMP at various stages of tumor growth to achieve optimal therapeutic effects by MMP inhibitor treatment.Key words: phosphinic peptides; matrix metalloproteinase Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been recognized since the early 1980s as promising targets for cancer therapy on the basis of their overexpression at different stages of tumor progression 1,2 and their unique ability to degrade all components of the extracellular matrix. 3 However, the range of protein substrates cleaved by MMPs is far more complex than previously anticipated and new functions of MMPs with relevance for cancer have recently emerged. 4,5 Cell surface receptor shedding, 6,7 cytokine activation, 8 -10 chemokine inactivation, 11 release of apoptotic or antiapoptotic signals, 12,13 regulation of angiogenesis 14 and immune surveillance 11,15 are examples of molecular events mediated by MMPs. These different functions led to the current view that MMPs not only support tumor growth, but also participate in host defense. These apparently contrasting functions of MMPs during tumor progression may in part explain why clinical trials with broad-spectrum MMP inhibitors have yielded disappointing results. 16,17 These results emphasize the need to determine the different roles of MMPs in specific stages of tumor progression. 18 In addition, more specific MMP inhibitors should be developed and tested.Phosphinic pseudopeptides represent a new class of potent inhibitors of zinc metalloproteinases. 19 Screening of phosphinic inhibitor libraries prepared by combinatorial chemistry led to the identification of highly s...