[Protease activities in gastric and colon cancer tissues]

Activities of cathepsin B, cathepsin L, and plasminogen activators (urinary type plasminogen activator and tissue type plasminogen activator) were assayed in homogenates of cancer tissue, normal tissue closely surrounding the cancer tissue, and normal tissue distant from the cancer tissue from 30 patients undergoing surgery for gastric cancers and 10 patients undergoing surgery for colon cancers. Activities of those proteases were also assayed in homogenates of adenoma tissue from 10 patients undergoing polypectomy for colon polyps. In the gastric cancer tissue homogenates, the activities of cathepsin B, cathepsin L and tissue type plasminogen activator were significantly higher than in normal tissues. By contrast, the activities of urinary type plasminogen activator of gastric cancer tissues were significantly lower than normal tissues. In the colon cancer tissue homogenates, the activities of cathepsin, B, cathepsin L, and urinary type plasminogen activator were significantly higher than in normal tissues. On the other hand, the activities of tissue type plasminogen activator of cancer tissues were significantly lower than normal tissues. But there were no significant differences in the activities of plasminogen activators between the cancer tissues and adenoma tissues. These results suggest that cathepsin B and cathepsin L play an important role in gastric and colon cancer proliferation and evolution, although the roles of plasminogen activators in gastric and colon cancer proliferation and evolution and in the colon adenoma-carcinoma sequence are still unknown.