Cysteine proteinases in tumor cell growth and apoptosis

During their evolution tumor cells acquire and mobilize various mechanisms that crucially affect their capability of proliferation, invasiveness and metastasis. Recent findings provide evidence that tumor cell associated cysteine proteinases such as some lysosomal cathepsins and apoptotic caspases are fundamentally involved in specific developmental traits of tumor cell populations. Tumor cell exterior-associated cysteine cathepsins B and L promote tumor growth, invasion and metastasis through degradation of extracellular connective matrices and through endothelial cell growth-directed activities. On the other hand, caspases -3, -7 and -6, generated in tumor cell cytoplasm via a robust activation of their zymogens, suppress tumor cell growth, invasion and metastasis through proteolytic devitalizing and remodeling of tumor cells into readily phagocytable apoptotic corpses. Tumor cell variants that are deficient in expression of effector caspase zymogens or are capable to suppress the extrinsic and intrinsic activation mechanisms of effector caspase zymogens and the activity of effector caspases have a significant survival advantage in environments of various death stimuli. Advancements in pharmacological targeting of tumor associated pathogenic lysosomal cysteine cathepsins and in apoptotic caspases-oriented conditioning of tumor cells may substantially contribute to therapeutic control of tumor diseases.