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Query: UMLS:C0027651 (tumor)
 685,946 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Tumor cells from a murine fibrosarcoma (FSa) produce plasminogen activator (PA), a protease that converts the zymogen plasminogen into the trypsin-like enzyme plasmin. Several studies indicate that tumor cell invasion is accompanied by proteolysis and that PA, generated by highly malignant cells, is by far the most ubiquitous protease associated with malignant transformation. Subpopulations of FSa cells were isolated by using density gradient centrifugation and the ability of these populations to form lung colonies was compared with their associated levels of PA production. Five populations of cells from a murine fibrosarcoma were separated in continuous gradients of Renografin in the density range 1.05-1.18 g/cm2. The PA activities of an unseparated control cell lysate and cell lysates of the five separated populations were determined by using [125I]fibrin as a substrate in a reaction between cell lysate and plasminogen. The assay was based on the release of digested [125I]fibrin from the surface of Petri dishes into the supernatant solution, and the results were expressed as a percentage of the total radioactivity. The cell populations collected at densities of 1.05 and 1.09 (B1, B2) were the more clonogenic with relative clonogenic efficiencies of 2.6 and 3.3 times that of the unseparated tumor population, respectively. Analysis for PA demonstrated that enzyme formation was restricted mostly to these two populations. Cells from populations 4 and 5 did not secrete increased amounts of PA and had reduced clonogenic efficiencies compared with the unseparated FSa control population. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that PA activity is correlated with the clonogenicity of tumor subpopulations isolated from a heterogeneous and complex tumor system such as the FSa.
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PMID:Plasminogen activator activity in clonogenic cell populations separated from a murine fibrosarcoma. 292 Apr 77

A proteinase inhibitor has been isolated from human colorectal adenocarcinomas by extraction with a low-ionic-strength buffer and a combination of Con A-Sepharose, Sephadex G-200, DEAE-cellulose and chromatofocusing steps. The preparation appeared to be homogeneous upon gel exclusion chromatography and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and had an estimated molecular weight of 66,000. The inhibitor was able to bind and inhibit urokinase, plasmin, trypsin, tissue plasminogen activator and thrombin. The binding appeared to be stoichiometric and relatively fast. The isoelectric point of the protein was 4.6-4.7. The inhibitor did not crossreact with antisera elicited against alpha 2-macroglobulin, alpha 2-antiplasmin, antithrombin III or C1-inhibitor, but it did crossreact with an antiserum against alpha 1-antitrypsin in double immunodiffusion. The antiserum only partially attenuated the activity of the inhibitor. Whereas alpha 1-antitrypsin completely inhibited the amidolytic activity of elastase, the tumor inhibitor had no effect on elastase under the same conditions.
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PMID:Isolation and partial characterization of a proteinase inhibitor from human colorectal adenocarcinoma. 293 82

We have carried out enzymatic, immunofluorescence, and surface iodination studies which show that B16 melanoma cells express the single chain form of the urokinase type plasminogen activator (uPA) on their cell surface, and that these cells are capable of plasminogen-dependent fibronectin degradation. The significance of the expression of surface single-chain uPA and uPA activity to the metastatic process was examined by preincubating melanoma cells with uPA modulating agents followed by i.v. injection of the cells into mice and enumeration of pulmonary nodules 17 days later. B16 cells that had been pretreated with anti-uPA immunoglobulins that were inhibitory to uPA activity invariably showed significantly decreased numbers of metastases compared to controls. On the contrary, pretreatment with plasmin, which is not only the product of the uPA catalyzed reaction but is also able to convert single-chain uPA to uPA, significantly increased the numbers of metastases. Control treatments, which included normal rabbit and mouse immunoglobulins, monovalent noninhibitory anti-uPA Fab fragments, and various monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies directed against other B16 cell surface antigens, did not affect the metastatic potential of the cells. Divalent inhibitory anti-uPA F(ab)2 fragments, on the contrary, inhibited metastasis as efficiently as intact IgG. The results support the hypothesis that proteolysis of extracellular matrix components by cell surface-localized uPA may be a critical step during the process of tumor cell invasion and metastasis.
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PMID:Modulation of metastatic potential by cell surface urokinase of murine melanoma cells. 296 89

The mammalian serine protease zymogen, plasminogen, can be converted into the active enzyme plasmin by vertebrate plasminogen activators urokinase (uPA), tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), factor XII-dependent components, or by bacterial streptokinase. The biochemical properties of the major components of the system, plasminogen/plasmin, plasminogen activators, and inhibitors of the plasminogen activators, are reviewed. The plasmin system has been implicated in a variety of physiological and pathological processes such as fibrinolysis, tissue remodeling, cell migration, inflammation, and tumor invasion and metastasis. A defective plasminogen activator/inhibitor system also has been linked to some thromboembolic complications. Recent studies of the mechanism of fibrinolysis in human plasma suggest that tPA may be the primary initiator and that overall fibrinolytic activity is strongly regulated at the tPA level. A simple model for the initiation and regulation of plasma fibrinolysis based on these studies has been formulated. The plasminogen activators have been used for thrombolytic therapy. Three new thrombolytic agents--tPA, pro-uPA, and acylated streptokinase-plasminogen complex--have been found to possess better properties over their predecessors, urokinase and streptokinase. Further improvements of these molecules using genetic and protein engineering tactics are being pursued.
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PMID:Plasminogen activation: biochemistry, physiology, and therapeutics. 297 9

Single-chain urokinase-like plasminogen activators have been determined by an indirect method (after activation to urokinase by plasmin and chromogenic assay with S 2444) in the cytosol of a rat tumor model. Variants of the R 3230 AC rat mammary adenocarcinoma were studied, including a subline with increased metastatic potential established by lung colony assay. The cellular content of the UK precursor was found to be significantly higher in the metastatic variant. Plasminogen activator-mediated invasion and collagenolysis of cells with the metastatic phenotype may be regulated by the release of the precursor which lacks reactivity with inhibitors, its transient activation and subsequent inhibition of the urokinase formed.
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PMID:Single-chain, urokinase-type plasminogen activator in a tumor model linked to metastatic potential. 297 33

The tumor induced RBC cytotoxicity assay has been used to explore the mechanism by which Rous sarcoma virus mutant transformed chick embryo fibroblasts and mouse 3T3 cells cause the cytolysis of RBC in vitro. All Rous sarcoma virus and viral mutant transformed cells were cytolytic for RBC. Three mutant viruses, tsGl251, rASV1702, and rASV157, appeared to cause quantitatively less cytolysis after transformation of chick embryo fibroblasts than other virally transformed cells. This decreased cytolytic activity may be correlated with decreased in vivo tumorigenicity. Temperature sensitive mutant transformed chick embryo fibroblasts and mouse 3T3, which were phenotypically normal and which secrete little if any plasminogen activator at non-permissive temperatures, were cytolytic at non-permissive temperatures. In addition, inhibitors of plasminogen activator and plasmin were ineffective inhibitors of cytotoxicity. The only effective inhibitor of cytotoxicity for both transformed chick embryo fibroblasts and mouse 3T3 cells was leupeptin. In Rous sarcoma virus transformed mouse 3T3 cells, the leupeptin inhibitable enzyme appears to be a plasma membrane enzyme.
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PMID:Role of proteases in red blood cell target cell destruction by cells transformed by Rous sarcoma virus mutants. 300 9

Bis(5-amidino-2-benzimidazolyl)methane (BABIM) is a synthetic aromatic amidine compound which has a number of important biochemical effects, including inhibition of a family of esteroproteases (trypsin, urokinase, plasmin) previously linked to the complex process of tumor invasion. Previous work has suggested that exogenous natural protease inhibitors can block invasion of tumor cells across basement membranes (BM) in vitro. The authors studied the effect of BABIM on the human cell line HT-1080 with the use of a quantitative in vitro amnion invasion assay system. They have verified the ability of these cells to grow in nude mice and metastasize via the lymphatics or blood vessels on the basis of the route of administration of the inoculum. Cells which were able to actively cross the entire BM were trapped on filters and counted by both brightfield microscopy and by beta scintillation counting of cells whose DNA was labeled with tritiated thymidine. In agreement with either counting technique, BABIM, at a concentration of 10(-4) M, significantly inhibited invasion (P less than 0.005) over the 7-day course of the experiments. Under these conditions, the inhibitor was nontoxic and did not alter the attachment of the cells to the amniotic membrane. Furthermore, a highly significant inhibition of invasion (P less than 0.001) was also demonstrated across a variation in molar concentration of BABIM of more than 2 orders of magnitude. Most remarkably, cells were initially inhibited in their ability to invade in the presence of between 10(-9) and 10(-3) M BABIM. Measurement of Type IV specific collagenase in media from these cells shows a significant inhibition of activity in the presence of BABIM. These results suggest two, not necessarily exclusive, alternative interpretations: first, that inhibition of the proteolytic steps along the pathway of activation of basement membrane degrading enzymes results in inhibition of invasion; second, that arginine directed esteroproteases may work in concert with cellular collagenolytic metalloproteinases in the process of invasion by human tumor cells through native matrix barriers.
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PMID:In vitro inhibition of human sarcoma cells' invasive ability by bis(5-amidino-2-benzimidazolyl)methane--a novel esteroprotease inhibitor. 300 61

To understand the role of proteinases in tumor invasion, the effects of inhibitors of metallo-, serine-, and cysteine-proteinases on this process were studied using 125I-iododeoxyuridine-labeled B16/BL6 cells grown on human amnion basement membrane. Cellular invasion was quantitated by measuring the radioactivity associated with the amniotic membrane after the B16/BL6 cells on the basement membrane were removed by lysis followed by scraping. The results obtained with proteinase inhibitors showed that inhibitors of collagenase and plasmin prevented invasion of the amnion. Tissue invasion was also blocked by antiurokinase antibodies. On the contrary, cysteine-proteinase inhibitors and anti-tissue plasminogen activator antiserum were ineffective. Mersalyl, a compound known to activate collagenase, stimulated invasion under conditions where plasmin formation or activity were inhibited. Evidence for the role of a plasminogen activator-plasmin-collagenase activation cascade in B16 invasion is provided.
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PMID:Tumor invasion through the human amniotic membrane: requirement for a proteinase cascade. 302 33

Extravasal fibrin deposition is frequently observed within and around tumorous tissues and has been implicated in various aspects of tumor growth. However, no adequate information has been available on the mechanism how intratumoral interstitial fibrin deposits escape a prompt elimination by the fibrinolytic system. In this study we provide immunomorphological evidence showing that fibrin deposits in lymph nodes with Hodgkin's disease are stabilized and made resistant to fibrinolysis by factor XIII (FXIII) of blood coagulation. By double immunofluorescent labelling systems fibrin deposits were simultaneously stained for alpha 2-antiplasmin (alpha 2-AP), the main physiological inhibitor of fibrinolysis and in a number of nodular areas they were also labelled for plasmin(ogen). The detection of alpha 2-antiplasmin-plasmin complex-neoantigen (alpha 2-AP-P-Neo) revealed that alpha 2-AP reacted with plasmin, i.e., alpha 2-AP covalently linked to fibrin indeed inhibited intratumoral fibrinolysis. In addition to fibrin deposits FXIII was also found in cellular elements characterized earlier as tumor associated macrophages. These cells were attached to fibrin strands suggesting that they are involved in the intratumoral fibrin formation and might be a source of fibrin stabilizing factor in the tumor stroma.
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PMID:Fibrinolysis resistant fibrin deposits in lymph nodes with Hodgkin's disease. 306 59

Plasminogen activators are enzymes which convert the zymogen to plasmin, the physiological enzyme for dissolving fibrin. There are two different physiological activator enzymes, urokinase (UK) and tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA, also known as vascular activator). The most striking difference in the behavior of the two activators is the ability of fibrin to augment the activity of t-PA but not of UK. Since tumor and normal tissues have been shown to contain different ratios of UK:t-PA, it can be anticipated that their comparative activator activities measured with fibrinolytic assays would yield different results from those measured with non-fibrin tests. This study was designed to test the validity of earlier conclusions that: (a) the measured activity of t-PA is augmented in fibrinolytic assays when compared with a non-fibrin assay based on azocaseinolysis; and (b) this difference could explain the failure of some laboratories using fibrinolytic assays to detect a difference in activator activity between tumor and normal tissues or to find more activity in the normal tissue. Azocaseinolytic and fibrinolytic (fibrin plate) assays were used to measure activator activity in a series of 14 normal-tumor tissue pairs. Using azocasein tests, cancer tissues were found to contain significantly higher median activities than normal tissues [Wilcoxon test, P less than 0.05; 13.8 versus 3.7 Committee on Thrombolytic Agents (CTA) units/g tissue, respectively], whereas no significant difference was found with fibrin assays (43.5 versus 69.0 CTA units/g tissue, respectively). Of total activator activity, the median percentage of UK was significantly higher in tumor (95%) than in normal tissue (58%). In addition, using azocaseinolysis it was found that the median UK activity was significantly higher in tumor (12.1 CTA units/g) relative to normal (3.51 CTA units/g) tissues, whereas no difference was found for t-PA. To explain these results in tumor and normal tissues, a mathematical model was derived to describe the difference between azocasein and fibrin assays for both purified plasminogen activator enzymes and activator enzymes in tissue extracts. The model fits the data well, confirming in a quantitative manner the hypotheses of the study. In addition, the study revealed that the azocaseinolytic assay was able to measure the full potential activator activity of purified pro-urokinase enzyme. Pro-urokinase activity could not be measured with standard fibrinolytic assays. These results show the importance of selection and interpretation of plasminogen activator assays in studies dealing with malignant transformation.
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PMID:Plasminogen activator content of human tumor and adjacent normal tissue measured with fibrin and non-fibrin assays. 308 Dec 57


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