Role of plasminogen in matrix breakdown by neoplastic cells

Destruction of the extracellular matrix is often observed during tumor invasion, and proteolytic enzymes may participate actively in the degradation of matrix proteins. The present report elucidates the role of plasminogen in the degradation by tumor cells of an in vitro elaborated extracellular matrix. Matrices produced by rat smooth muscle cells in the presence of [3H]proline or [3H]fucose were used as substrates for human fibrosarcoma cells (HT-1080), mouse melanoma cells (B16F1), or human rhabdomyosarcoma cells (RD). All three cell lines degraded part of the glycoprotein compartment of the matrix. HT-1080 cells digested the matrices in a density-dependent manner, and while matrix glycoprotein degradation was plasminogen-dependent at the beginning of the experiment and at low cell densities, the zymogen was not essential for further glycoprotein digestion at high cell densities. Depletion of plasminogen from the growth medium resulted in a threefold reduction of matrix degradation by B16F1 cells showing a distinct plasminogen dependency at low cell numbers. RD cells digested only matrix glycoproteins, and this degradation was completely dependent on the presence of plasminogen at all cell densities. These results suggested that plasmin generated from plasminogen by a tumor cell-associated plasminogen activator may be most important for matrix hydrolysis at low cell densities, and while certain tumor cell lines showed a definite plasminogen-independent matrix degradation with increased cell numbers, other neoplastic cells hydrolyzed the matrix only in the presence of the zymogen at all cell densities.