[Signaling pathways regulating the expression of proteases during tumor progression]. / Vias de señalizacion que regulan la expresion de proteasas durante la progresión tumoral.

Deregulation of several signaling pathways have been found to be critical for the development of different types of tumors, both in transgenic and spontaneous models. The role of proteases and adhesion molecules during the early stages of tumor progression induced by oncogenes in epithelial and mesenchymal tumors has remained relatively unexplored. This review summarizes recent work showing that different but overlapping signaling effector modules (PKC, v-Ras-RalA-PLD1 or v-Src-RalA-PLD1) induce changes in the production of proteases (uPA and MMPs) and adhesion molecules (fibronectin, CD44, beta 1-integrin) in normal epithelial or mesenchymal cell lines, associated with tumor development in vivo. Overexpression of PKC gamma in normal mammary epithelial cells or of v-Src and v-Ras in NIH3T3 fibroblasts induced in all cases overproduction of uPA and MMPs and a tumorigenic phenotype. Proteases production and tumorigenicity in transformed NIH3T3 cells were dependent on the GTPase RalA. In contrast to the common outcome in protease production by the different tumor promoting stimuli, fibronectin production was high in PKC-overexpressing mammary epithelial cells and it was organized into a rich fibrillar matrix, while oncogene transformed fibroblasts displayed reduced fibronectin production and a total loss of FN fibrillogenesis, an effect also dependent on RalA. These results show that protease overexpression is a common denominator in the acquisition of a malignant phenotype both in mesenchymal and epithelial cells. In contrast there is a dramatic difference in the expression and function of adhesion molecules like fibronectin between these two cell types, suggesting different regulatory roles for this glycoprotein during tumor progression, in cells of different tissular origin.

Vias de señalizacion que regulan la expresion de proteasas durante la progresión tumoral. / [Signaling pathways regulating the expression of proteases during tumor progression]

Deregulation of several signaling pathways have been found to be critical for the development of different types of tumors, both in transgenic and spontaneous models. The role of proteases and adhesion molecules during the early stages of tumor progression induced by oncogenes in epithelial and mesenchymal tumors has remained relatively unexplored. This review summarizes recent work showing that different but overlapping signaling effector modules (PKC, v-Ras-RalA-PLD1 or v-Src-RalA-PLD1) induce changes in the production of proteases (uPA and MMPs) and adhesion molecules (fibronectin, CD44, beta 1-integrin) in normal epithelial or mesenchymal cell lines, associated with tumor development in vivo. Overexpression of PKC gamma in normal mammary epithelial cells or of v-Src and v-Ras in NIH3T3 fibroblasts induced in all cases overproduction of uPA and MMPs and a tumorigenic phenotype. Proteases production and tumorigenicity in transformed NIH3T3 cells were dependent on the GTPase RalA. In contrast to the common outcome in protease production by the different tumor promoting stimuli, fibronectin production was high in PKC-overexpressing mammary epithelial cells and it was organized into a rich fibrillar matrix, while oncogene transformed fibroblasts displayed reduced fibronectin production and a total loss of FN fibrillogenesis, an effect also dependent on RalA. These results show that protease overexpression is a common denominator in the acquisition of a malignant phenotype both in mesenchymal and epithelial cells. In contrast there is a dramatic difference in the expression and function of adhesion molecules like fibronectin between these two cell types, suggesting different regulatory roles for this glycoprotein during tumor progression, in cells of different tissular origin.

RalA requirement for v-Src- and v-Ras-induced tumorigenicity and overproduction of urokinase-type plasminogen activator: involvement of metalloproteases.

Overproduction of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and metalloproteases (MMPs) is strongly correlated with tumorigenicity and with invasive and metastatic phenotypes of human and experimental tumors. We demonstrated previously that overproduction of uPA in tumor cells is mediated by a phospholipase D (PLD)- and protein kinase C-dependent mechanism. The oncogenic stimulus of v-Src and v-Ras results in the activation of PLD, which is dependent upon the monomeric GTPase RalA. We have therefore investigated whether RalA plays a role in uPA and MMP overproduction that is observed in response to oncogenic signals. We report here that NIH3T3 cells transformed by both v-Src and v-Ras, constitutively overproduce uPA and that expression of a dominant negative RalA mutant (S28N) blocks overproduction of uPA in both the v-Src-and v-Ras-transformed cells. v-Src and v-Ras also induced an upregulation of the activity of MMP-2 and MMP-9 as detected by zymograms, however only the v-Src induction correlated with MMP protein levels detected by Western blot analysis. The dominant negative RalA mutant blocked increased MMP-2 and 9 overproduction induced by v-Src, but not the increased activity of MMP-2 and 9 induced by v-Ras. And, consistent with a role for the RalA/PLD pathway in mitogenesis and tumor development, the dominant negative RalA mutant completely blocked tumor formation by v-Src- and v-Ras-transformed NIH3T3 cells injected subcutaneously in syngeneic mice. The data presented here implicate RalA and PLD as signaling mediators for tumor formation and protease production by transformed cells.

Deregulation of the signaling pathways controlling urokinase production. Its relationship with the invasive phenotype.

We review the evidence in support of the notion that, upon experimental oncogenic transformation or in spontaneous human cancers, mitogenesis and expression of urokinase (uPA) and its receptor (uPAR) are activated through common signaling complexes and pathways. It is well documented that uPA, uPAR or metalloproteinases (MMPs) are overexpressed in tumor cells of mesenchymal or epithelial origin and these molecules are required for tumor invasion and metastasis. Furthermore, oncogenic stimuli, which may render the transformed cells tumorigenic and metastatic in vivo, activate, in a constitutive fashion, the extracellular-regulated kinases (Erk 1 and 2) classical mitogenic pathway and others such as the NH(2)-Jun-kinase (Jnk). Cells from human tumors or oncogene-transformed cells overexpress uPA and uPAR, and also show a sustained activation of the above-mentioned signaling modules. In this paper we show that the classical mitogenic pathway involving Ras-Erk, PKC-Erk or Rac-JNK, among others, is activated by growth factors or endogenously by oncogenes, and constitutively activates uPA and uPAR expression. All the data obtained from human tumors or experimental systems, incorporated into a general model, indicate that oncogenic stimuli lead to the constitutive activation of mitogenesis and uPA and its receptor expression, through the activation of the same classical and nonclassical signaling complexes and pathways that regulate cell proliferation. We also discuss contrasting points of view. For instance, what governs the differential regulation of mitogenesis and the signal that leads to protease overexpression in a way that allows normal cells during physiological events to respond to growth factors, and proliferate without overexpressing extracellular matrix (ECM) proteases? Or how can cells remodel their microenvironment without proliferating? What restrains benign tumors from overexpressing tumor-associated proteases when they certainly have the mitogenic signal fully activated? This may occur by the differential regulation of transcriptional programs and recent reports reviewed in this paper may provide an insight into how this occurs at the signaling and transcriptional levels.