Plasminogen promotes sarcoma growth and suppresses the accumulation of tumor-infiltrating macrophages.
The specific functions of plasminogen, stromal plasminogen activator, stromal plasminogen activator receptor, and stromal plasminogen activator inhibitor in the progression of the murine soft tissue sarcoma, T241 were investigated. Negation of plasminogen to the tumor blunted the orthotopic growth of the sarcoma in syngeneic mice. The reduced tumor growth was associated with a dramatic increase in tumor-infiltrating F4/80-positive macrophages and a diminution of vessel density, but not with obvious differences in fibrin and collagen deposition, or invasiveness of the tumor. Ablation of plasminogen activation by the tumor stroma only modestly impaired the prolonged growth of the sarcoma, suggesting that tumor cell-produced plasminogen activator is sufficient to mediate productive plasminogen activation. Plasminogen facilitated sarcoma progression, angiogenesis, and suppression of macrophage infiltration in the absence of either stromal urokinase plasminogen activator receptor or stromal plasminogen activator inhibitor. These data demonstrate that tumor cell-produced plasminogen activator and host plasminogen cooperate to facilitate soft tissue sarcoma growth and suppress the accumulation of tumor-infiltrating macrophages.
Curino
Alejandro
A
Oral and Pharyngeal Cancer Branch, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, 30 Convent Drive, Bethesda, Maryland, MD 20892, USA.
Mitola
David J
DJ
Aaronson
Hannah
H
McMahon
Grainne A
GA
Raja
Kamran
K
Keegan
Achsah D
AD
Lawrence
Daniel A
DA
Bugge
Thomas H
TH
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology*; D017931:DNA Primers; D008264:Macrophages / Q000166:cytology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010958:Plasminogen / Q000502:physiology*; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000473:pathology*; D012983:Soft Tissue Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*
D017931:DNA Primers; D010958:Plasminogen