Platelets, protease-activated receptors, and fibrinogen in hematogenous metastasis

Procoagulant activity on tumor cells can enhance their ability to spread via the circulation to colonize distant organs. Toward defining the relative importance of the main host responses to coagulation for hematogenous metastasis, we examined lung metastases after intravenous injection of melanoma cells in Nf-E2(-/-) mice, which have virtually no circulating platelets; Par4(-/-) mice, which have platelets that fail to respond to thrombin; Par1 and Par2(-/-) mice, which have markedly attenuated endothelial responses to coagulation proteases; and Fib(-/-) mice, which lack fibrinogen. In a severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) background, median lung tumor count in Nf-E2(-/-), Par4(-/-), and Fib(-/-) mice was 6%, 14%, and 24% of wild type, respectively; total tumor burden was only 4%, 9%, and 3% of wild type, respectively. Similar results were seen in a syngeneic C57BL6 background. By contrast, deficiencies of protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR1) or PAR2 did not provide protection. These results provide strong genetic evidence that platelets play a key role in hematogenous metastasis and contribute to this process by both thrombin-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Importantly, PAR4 heterozygosity conferred some protection against metastasis in this model. Thus even partial attenuation of platelet function may be sufficient to provide benefit.