Pulmonary infiltrates in Costello Syndrome.

This paper reports on a patient with diffuse pulmonary infiltrates directly related to Costello Syndrome. This congenital disorder is characterised by multiple congenital abnormalities, such as psychomotor retardation, short stature, redundant skin, papillomata, curly hair, relative macroencephaly, distinctive face and various defects of internal organs. This study is the first to document the histopathological findings in the lungs. Most conspicuous was the depositing of abnormal collagen and elastic fibres and the development of endogenous lipid pneumonia.

Cathepsin L antisense oligonucleotides in a human osteosarcoma cell line: effects on the invasive phenotype.

Alterations in cathepsin L expression and trafficking have been associated with the progression and metastasis of several tumor entities. In the present study, we examined the effects of various cathepsin L antisense (as) phosphorothioate oligonucleotides on both the expression of cathepsin L and the invasive potential of the human osteosarcoma cell line MNNG/HOS. Seven oligonucleotides of 20-bp length each and one random control oligonucleotide were chosen to block cathepsin L expression. Northern blot analysis demonstrated a significant reduction in cathepsin L mRNA expression by the six antisense oligonucleotides at a concentration of 10 microM. Cathepsin L protein expression was reduced significantly (50-85%) by the antisense oligonucleotides, as compared with the controls. Adhesion to matrices of collagen I and matrigel was not affected. In in vitro motility and invasion assays performed in uncoated and precoated transwell chambers, the ability of cells to migrate through the filters was inhibited by 35-75% using antisense oligonucleotides. The random control did not show any inhibitory effect. These data demonstrate that in MNNG/HOS cells cathepsin L influences cellular malignancy by promoting migration and basement membrane degradation.

Expression of cathepsin K in chordoma.

Invasive growth of chordoma is accompanied by severe destruction of adjacent bone tissue, a fact that requires high proteolytic activity at the tumor invasion fronts. In this context, cathepsin K is a candidate molecule. It is a protease with high collagenolytic and elastinolytic activity and previously thought to be restricted to osteoclasts and osteoclast-mediated bone resorption. In this study, 44 cases of chordoma of sphenooccipital localization, and 10 embryo-fetal specimens including chorda dorsalis were studied immunohistochemically for their expression of cathepsin K. In 4 additional snap-frozen chordoma cases, the enzyme expression was investigated by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and enzyme histochemistry. Ten chondrosarcomas of the skull base served as controls. Various concentrations of cathepsin K mRNA could be seen in all snap-frozen chordoma specimens. The protease was immunohistochemically expressed by the tumor cells. The immunoreactions were accentuated at the tumor invasion fronts. Enzyme histochemistry indicated a strong tumor cell-associated cathepsin K activity in invasive tumor components. In contrast to chordoma, cathepsin K was not significantly expressed in chorda dorsalis and chondrosarcoma of the skull base. In chondrosarcoma, protease expression was limited to osteoclastic cells localized between infiltrative tumor components and regular bone trabeculae. This study shows the significant expression and activity of cathepsin K in chordoma and implicates an important and direct role of this protease in the infiltrative growth of this tumor. This protease expression occurred during neoplastic transformation and did not appear in chorda dorsalis.

Inhibitory effects of antisense cathepsin B cDNA transfection on invasion and motility in a human osteosarcoma cell line.

Increased activity, membrane association, and secretion of cathepsin B have been shown to correlate positively with invasiveness and the metastatic properties of many tumor entities. Cathepsin B is able to directly facilitate invasion by degrading extracellular matrix components or to indirectly facilitate invasion by activating other matrix-degrading proteases like the urokinase-type plasminogen activator. To investigate the role of cathepsin B in bone tumor invasion, the osteosarcoma cell line MNNG/HOS was stably transfected with an expression vector capable of expressing the antisense cDNA transcript of cathepsin B. Five stably transfected antisense cell clones, the control (vector) cell clones, and the parental cells were characterized. At first, the stable incorporation of the constructs was demonstrated by Southern blot analysis. In ELISA assays, all antisense clones showed a significant reduction at the cathepsin B antigen level (about 70%) as compared with the control cell clones and MNNG/HOS. Similar results were obtained for cathepsin B activity in the antisense-transfected cells. In the antisense cell clones, Northern blot analysis and reverse transcription-PCR revealed a considerable decrease of approximately 50% in the levels of cathepsin B mRNA. Expression of cathepsins L and K (sequence homologies) was not affected. The invasive potential and migration of untransfected and transfected tumor cell clones in vitro were analyzed in Transwell chambers. Antisense-transfected cells showed a markedly lower invasion and motility than did MNNG/HOS and the controls. Adhesion to collagen I and matrigel matrices was not affected. These results demonstrate that cathepsin B is involved in the complex proteolytic processes in invasive osteosarcomas.

Expression of cathepsin K in the human embryo and fetus.

Cathepsin K is a protease with high collagenolytic and elastinolytic activity. Its cellular expression was previously thought to be restricted to osteoclasts and osteoclast-mediated bone resorption. In this study, the expression of cathepsin K in the human embryo and fetus was demonstrated by immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, and by Northern blotting of fetal tissue extracts. Besides osteoclasts and chondroclasts and their precursors, epithelial cells of various organ systems expressed significant amounts of this enzyme. Respiratory and gastrointestinal mucosa, including bile duct epithelia and urothelia, showed high levels of cathepsin K expression. With the exception of the urothelium, showing a more homogenous expression pattern, the protease was usually accentuated in the surface cell layers of pithelia. In summary, these findings in the human embryo and early fetus demonstrated a significant expression of cathepsin K in different epithelial cell types besides osteoclasts. The functional aspects of cathepsin K expression in nonosteoclastic cells and potential conclusions on physiological and pathological conditions in the embryo-fetal or adult organism remain to be investigated. Dev Dyn 1999;216:89-95.