title: Inhibition of carcinoma cell invasion and liver metastases formation by the cysteine proteinase inhibitor E-64.
abstract: Cysteine proteinases, in particular cathepsins B and L, have been implicated in tumor invasion and are thought to be important mediators of metastasis. Using two clonal sublines of the Lewis lung carcinoma with distinct patterns of metastasis, we previously reported that H-59 carcinoma cells, which are highly invasive and preferentially metastatic to the liver, express high levels of cathepsin L and lower levels of cathepsin B whereas M-27 cells which are less invasive and only moderately metastatic to the lung express cathepsin B only. In the present study, the role of these enzymes in invasion and metastasis, in particular the involvement of cysteine proteinases in liver metastasis of H-59 cells was further investigated. Using a reconstituted basement membrane (Matrigel) invasion assay we found that the cysteine proteinase inhibitor, E-64, blocked the invasion of H-59 cells under conditions which did not affect cell viability. A more minor but significant inhibitory effect (up to 32%) was also seen with the propeptide of cathepsin B, implicating this enzyme in the invasion process. Furthermore, treatment of H-59 cells with E-64 inhibited experimental liver metastases formation by up to 90%. On the other hand, invasion of M-27 cells could not be blocked by cysteine proteinase inhibitors even under conditions which resulted in complete abrogation of intracellular enzymatic activity, as assessed using synthetic substrates. Together, these results confirm our previous conclusion that the two carcinoma sublines utilize distinct proteolytic mechanisms for invasion and identify the cysteine proteinases as key mediators of H-59 carcinoma invasion and metastasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Navab
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Mort
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brodt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018827:Carcinoma, Lewis Lung / Q000378:metabolism / Q000556:secondary*; D002401:Cathepsin B / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D056668:Cathepsin L; D002403:Cathepsins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D003094:Collagen; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; D010450:Endopeptidases; D005260:Female; D007797:Laminin; D007930:Leucine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D008114:Liver Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000201:enzymology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000556:secondary*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011509:Proteoglycans; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D004338:Drug Combinations; D007797:Laminin; D011509:Proteoglycans; C059485:matrigel; D003094:Collagen; D002403:Cathepsins; D010450:Endopeptidases; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases; D002401:Cathepsin B; D056668:Cathepsin L; C534278:Ctsl protein, mouse; D007930:Leucine; C024974:E 64