Suppression of Ras-mediated tumorigenicity and metastasis through inhibition of the Met receptor tyrosine kinase.

Mutations in the Ras family of GTP binding proteins represent one of the most frequently observed genetic alterations in human cancers. We and others have recently demonstrated that expression of Met, the tyrosine kinase receptor for hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF), is significantly up-regulated in Ras-transformed cells. Because HGF/SF-Met signaling is proposed to play a prominent role in tumor development and progression, we assessed the possible requirement for Met during Ras-mediated tumor growth and metastasis. To disrupt endogenous Met signaling, we constructed dominant-negative mutants of both human and murine Met and showed that these can inhibit HGF/SF-mediated Met signaling and cell invasion of ras-transformed cells in vitro. Moreover, ectopic expression of dominant-negative Met mutants reduced the s.c. tumor growth of ras-transformed cells and dramatically suppressed their ability to form lung metastases in vivo. Our data demonstrate that Met plays a prominent role during Ras-mediated tumor growth and metastasis, and further suggest that agents that inhibit HGF/SF-Met signaling may represent an important therapeutic avenue for the treatment of a variety of malignant tumors.

Negative cooperativity between alpha 3 beta 1 and alpha 2 beta 1 integrins in human mammary carcinoma MDA MB 231 cells.

The alpha 3 beta 1 integrin has been implicated as a receptor for several matrix components, including collagen, fibronectin, and laminins. The function of alpha 3 beta 1 seems to be very versatile involving cell adhesion to or migration on ECM, establishment of cell-cell contacts in aggregates, as well as linkage to intracellular tyrosine phosphorylation cascades. Here we report a strong induction of attachment of alpha 3 beta 1 integrin expressing human breast carcinoma cell line MDA MB 231 to matrix proteins by two alpha 3 integrin subunit function-blocking monoclonal antibodies (P1B5 and ASC-1). In contrast, stimulation of adhesion to ECM by inhibitory alpha 3 integrin-specific antibodies was not observed in the alpha 3 beta 1 integrin-expressing nonmalignant human mammary epithelial cell line MCF-10A or the human breast carcinoma cell line MDA MB 468 that expressed relatively low amounts of alpha 3 beta 1 integrin at the cell surface. This increase was specific for collagens and not observed on fibronectin or laminin. Physiological concentrations of bivalent cations were not required. MAb P1B5 did not induce homotypic aggregation of MDA MB 231 cells. The P1B5-induced increase in cell attachment to collagens could be prevented but not reduced below control levels by blocking mAb to the alpha 2 integrin subunit. Function blocking anti-alpha 5 integrin subunit mAb was without effect while anti-beta 1-mAb completely abolished adhesion. Our data indicate that negative cooperativity between integrins results in transdominant inhibition of alpha 2 beta 1 function by alpha 3 beta 1 in human MDA MB 231 but not MDA MB 468 tumor cells or nonmalignant MCF-10A cells.

Lactoferrin expression in mammary epithelial cells is mediated by changes in cell shape and actin cytoskeleton.

Lactoferrin is a secreted iron binding protein which is expressed during normal functional development of mammary epithelium. Murine mammary epithelial cell lines competent for milk protein expression were used to identify microenvironmental factors that regulate lactoferrin expression. While lactoferrin was not expressed in adherent monolayer cultures under standard subconfluent conditions on plastic, lactoferrin mRNA and protein steadily accumulated when the cells aggregated to form spheroids on a reconstituted basement membrane gel. However, unlike other milk proteins such as beta-casein, lactoferrin expression was also induced at high cell density in the absence of exogenously added basement membrane or prolactin. These results led us to examine whether changes in cell growth, cell-cell interactions and/or cell shape were responsible for regulation of lactoferrin gene expression. Rounded, non-proliferating cells in suspension in serum-free medium expressed lactoferrin even as single cells. Conversely, lactoferrin expression could be inhibited in non-proliferative cells in serum-free medium by maintaining them in contact with an air-dried extracellular matrix which caused the cells to retain flat, spread morphologies. These findings indicated that cessation of cell growth was not sufficient, that cell-cell interactions were not required, and that cell culture conditions which minimize cell spreading may be important in maintaining lactoferrin expression. Additional data supporting this latter concept were generated by treating spread cells with cytochalasin D. The resulting disruption of microfilament assembly induced both cell rounding and lactoferrin expression. Shape-dependent regulation of lactoferrin mRNA was both transcriptional and post-transcriptional. Surprisingly, treatment of rounded cells with a transcription inhibitor, actinomycin D, produced a stabilization of lactoferrin mRNA, suggesting that transcription of an unstable factor is required for degradation of lactoferrin mRNA. Importantly, lactoferrin mRNA expression was regulated similarly in early passage normal human mammary epithelial cells. In vivo, the changing extracellular matrix components of the mammary gland during different stages of normal and abnormal growth and differentiation may provide different physical constraints on the configurations of cell surface molecules. These physical constraints may be communicated to the cell interior through mechanical changes in the cytoskeleton. Unlike beta-casein whose expression is upregulated by specific integrin-mediated signals, lactoferrin may be representative of a class of proteins synthesized in the mammary gland using basal transcriptional and translational machinery. The suppression of lactoferrin expression that is observed in monolayer culture and in malignant tissues may reflect inappropriate cell shapes and cytoskeletal structures that are manifested under these conditions.

The development of a functionally relevant cell culture model of progressive human breast cancer.

Normal mammary homeostasis, and by implication tumorigenesis, are dependent upon the dynamic interplay between epithelial cells, stromal components and the extracellular matrix. To study the evolution of human breast cancer, a functionally relevant cell culture model is required which recognizes the complexity of the mammary gland's microenvironment. The development of an appropriate breast epithelial cancer cell model will be dependent on the ability to recreate the 'normal' and 'neoplastic' tissue microenvironment in culture. Towards this goal, a 3-dimensional extracellular matrix (ECM) assay, employing a reconstituted basement membrane, has been developed which allows for the rapid and accurate discrimination of normal and neoplastic cells when cultured. To investigate stromal/epithelial cell interactions, we have developed a tumor environment assay which essentially mirrors the tumor microenvironment histologically. The use of a novel, near diploid, human breast epithelial cell line, HMT-3522, which has transformed spontaneously with passage in culture, together with these 3-dimensional culture assays is expected to provide meaningful markers of initiation and progression.

Cellular growth and survival are mediated by beta 1 integrins in normal human breast epithelium but not in breast carcinoma.

We previously established a rapid three-dimensional assay for discrimination of normal and malignant human breast epithelial cells using a laminin-rich reconstituted basement membrane. In this assay, normal epithelial cells differentiate into well-organized acinar structures whereas tumor cells fail to recapitulate this process and produce large, disordered colonies. The data suggest that breast acinar morphogenesis and differentiation is regulated by cell-extra-cellular matrix (ECM) interactions and that these interactions are altered in malignancy. Here, we investigated the role of ECM receptors (integrins) in these processes and report on the expression and function of potential laminin receptors in normal and tumorigenic breast epithelial cells. Immunocytochemical analysis showed that normal and carcinoma cells in a three-dimensional substratum express profiles of integrins similar to normal and malignant breast tissues in situ. Normal cells express alpha 1, alpha 2, alpha 3, alpha 6, beta 1 and beta 4 integrin subunits, whereas breast carcinoma cells show variable losses, disordered expression, or downregulation of these subunits. Function-blocking experiments using inhibitory anti-integrin subunit antibodies showed a > 5-fold inhibition of the formation of acinar structures by normal cells in the presence of either anti-beta 1 or anti-alpha 3 antibodies, whereas anti-alpha 2 or -alpha 6 had little or no effect. In experiments where collagen type I gels were used instead of basement membrane, acinar morphogenesis was blocked by anti-beta 1 and -alpha 2 antibodies but not by anti-alpha 3. These data suggest a specificity of integrin utilization dependent on the ECM ligands encountered by the cell. The interruption of normal acinar morphogenesis by anti-integrin antibodies was associated with an inhibition of cell growth and induction of apoptosis. Function-blocking antibodies had no inhibitory effect on the rate of tumor cell growth, survival or capacity to form colonies. Thus under our culture conditions breast acinar formation is at least a two-step process involving beta 1-integrin-dependent cellular growth followed by polarization of the cells into organized structures. The regulation of this pathway appears to be impaired or lost in the tumor cells, suggesting that tumor colony formation occurs by independent mechanisms and that loss of proper integrin-mediated cell-ECM interaction may be critical to breast tumor formation.

A novel function for the nm23-H1 gene: overexpression in human breast carcinoma cells leads to the formation of basement membrane and growth arrest.

BACKGROUND: We have developed a culture system using reconstituted basement membrane components in which normal human mammary epithelial cells exhibit several aspects of the development and differentiation process, including formation of acinar-like structures, production and basal deposition of basement membrane components, and production and apical secretion of sialomucins. Cell lines and cultures from human breast carcinomas failed to recapitulate this process. The data indicate the importance of cellular interactions with the basement membrane in the regulation of normal breast differentiation and, potentially, its loss in neoplasia. PURPOSE: Our purpose was to use this assay to investigate the role of the putative metastasis suppressor gene nm23-H1 in mammary development and differentiation. METHODS: The metastatic human breast carcinoma cell line MDA-MB-435, clones transfected with a control pCMVBamneo vector, and clones transfected with pCMVBamneo vector containing nm23-H1 complementary DNA (the latter of which exhibited a substantial reduction in spontaneous metastatic potential in vivo) were cultured within a reconstituted basement membrane. Clones were examined for formation of acinus-like spheres, deposition of basement membrane components, production of sialomucin, polarization, and growth arrest. RESULTS: In contrast to the parental cell line and control transfectants, MDA-MB-435 breast carcinoma cells overexpressing Nm23-H1 protein regained several aspects of the normal phenotype within reconstituted basement membrane. Nm23-H1 protein-positive cells formed organized acinus-like spheres, deposited the basement membrane components type IV collagen and, to some extent, laminin to the outside of the spheres, expressed sialomucin, and growth arrested. Growth arrest of Nm23-H1 protein-positive cells was preceded by and correlated with formation of a basement membrane, suggesting a causal relationship. CONCLUSION: The data indicate a previously unidentified cause-and-effect relationship between nm23-H1 gene expression and morphological-biosynthetic-growth aspects of breast differentiation in this model system. IMPLICATIONS: While the basement membrane microenvironment is capable of directing the differentiation of normal human breast cells, neoplastic transformation abrogates this relationship, suggesting that intrinsic cellular events are also critical to this process. The data identify nm23-H1 gene expression as one of these events, suggesting an important role in the modulation of cellular responsiveness to the microenvironment. The data also identify previously unknown growth inhibitory effects of nm23-H1 gene overexpression.

The influence of tissue microenvironment (stroma and extracellular matrix) on the development and function of mammary epithelium.

The morphogenesis and functional differentiation of mammary epithelium depends on signalling from systemic hormones and on cues from the local tissue microenvironment. With regard to the latter, regulatory cues are mainly provided by two subcompartments of the mesenchyme/stroma [fibroblastic and adipocyte] and the subjacent basement membrane. During embryogenesis, fibroblastic mesenchyme determines the sexual phenotype of the gland while adipocyte mesenchyme controls mammary-specific ductal morphogenesis. In the juvenile animal, adipocyte stroma continues to support ductal expansion while fibroblasts negatively regulate ductal outgrowth via interactions with the epithelium possibly involving TGF-beta mediated deposition of collagen I and chondroitin sulphate. In the adult, evidence from culture studies show that the signals required for the induction of tissue-specific differentiation during pregnancy and maintenance of function during lactation arise primarily from basement membrane. Beta-casein synthesis is induced in single mammary epithelial cells embedded within a basement membrane matrix via an integrin-dependent pathway. Further support for a critical role for basement membrane in the functional differentiation of the gland comes from studies in involution where degradative loss of basement membranes correlates with loss of functional activity in the epithelium. Thus the extracellular matrix in conjunction with certain cytokines plays a central role in coordinating mammary epithelial development. The findings discussed give further credence to a modal where mammary epithelium, together with certain elements of the subjacent microenvironment, form a dynamic and reciprocally interactive functional unit that regulates tissue specific gene expression in the mammary gland.

Interaction with basement membrane serves to rapidly distinguish growth and differentiation pattern of normal and malignant human breast epithelial cells.

Normal human breast epithelial cells show a high degree of phenotypic plasticity in monolayer culture and express many traits that otherwise characterize tumor cells in vivo. Paradoxically, primary human breast carcinoma cells are difficult to establish in culture: most outgrowths arise from the normal tissue surrounding the tumor. These characteristics have posed major obstacles to the establishment of simple reliable criteria for mammary epithelial transformation in culture. In the present study, we show that a reconstituted basement membrane (BM) can be used to culture all normal human breast epithelial cells and a subset of human breast carcinoma cells. The two cell types can be readily distinguished by virtue of the ability of normal cells to reexpress a structurally and functionally differentiated phenotype within BM. Twelve specimens of normal breast tissue and 2 normal breast epithelial cell lines (total 14 samples) embedded in BM as single cells were able to form multicellular spherical colonies with a final size close to that of true acini in situ. Sections of mature spheres revealed a central lumen surrounded by polarized luminal epithelial cells expressing keratins 18 and 19 and sialomucin at the apical membrane. Significantly, two-thirds of normal spheres deposited a visible endogenous type IV collagen-containing BM even though they were in contact with exogenously provided BM. Growth was arrested completely within the same time period. In contrast, none of 6 carcinoma cell lines or 2 cultures of carcinoma from fresh samples (total 8 samples) responded to BM by growth regulation, lumen formation, correct polarity, or deposition of endogenous BM. These findings may provide the basis of a rapid assay for discriminating normal human breast epithelial cells from their malignant counterparts. Furthermore, we propose that the ability to sense BM appropriately and to form three-dimensional organotypic structures may be the function of a class of "suppressor" genes that are lost as cells become malignant.

pp60v-src tyrosine kinase is expressed and active in sarcoma-free avian embryos microinjected with Rous sarcoma virus.

Early embryonic avian tissue is resistant to transformation by Rous sarcoma virus. To determine the nature of this resistance, we examined the expression and properties of the Rous sarcoma virus transforming protein pp60v-src, in infected embryonic chicken limbs in ovo. Lysates from Rous sarcoma virus-infected limbs contained the viral structural protein p19gag, as detected by immunoblot analysis, and showed pp60v-src kinase activity in vitro. Immunoblot analysis of lysates with anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies revealed a number of phosphotyrosine-containing proteins present in lysates of Rous sarcoma virus-infected embryos but not in lysates of control, uninfected embryos. Anti-phosphotyrosine immunoreactivity was observed in frozen sections in the same cell types that expressed pp60v-src and p19gag. These studies demonstrate that pp60v-src is co-expressed with viral structural determinants in infected embryonic avian tissue. Furthermore, pp60v-src is active in ovo as a tyrosine-specific phosphotransferase, despite the apparent lack of sarcoma induction. The localization pattern of the major src gene substrate p36 (calpactin I) was compared with that of p19gag by double-label immunofluorescence and found to be generally nonoverlapping. These observations are consistent with the concept that the induction of tumors in ovo requires complementation between viral determinants and host factors. These host factors, which may be critical substrates of pp60v-src, are subject to developmental regulation in the avian embryo.

Effects of treatment with N-methyl-N-nitrosourea, artificial sweeteners, and cyclophosphamide on adult rat urinary bladder in vitro.

The effect of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU), sodium saccharin, sodium cyclamate and cyclophosphamide on rat bladder explants in vitro was studied. MNU administered as a single dose or in multiple treatments induced concentration-dependent changes in urothelial ultrastructure and cell surface topography. In a single treatment protocol, extensive cytotoxicity was observed in both the urothelium and stroma at concentrations of 500 to 1000 micrograms/ml, establishing a toxic threshold within this range. In a multiple treatment protocol, repeated doses of low concentrations of carcinogen (7 or 8 x 50 micrograms/ml, 6 x 100 micrograms/ml) induced hyperplastic and dysplastic changes in the urothelium with no cytotoxicity, but cytotoxic effects were observed following treatments of 4 x 200 micrograms/ml or 2 x 400 micrograms/ml. Sodium saccharin, sodium cyclamate, and cyclophosphamide induced changes in urothelial cell surface topography consistent with hyperplasia and preneoplasia. Prolonged exposure to saccharin or cyclamate followed by a single dose of MNU elicited more extensive abnormalities in the urothelium than either saccharin or cyclamate alone, suggesting that these artificial sweeteners have initiating activity in a multistage process. The ultrastructural changes induced by in vitro treatment showed a good correlation with the pathological changes observed in vivo in rats treated with MNU or fed either with saccharin or cyclamate.

Tissue tropism and temporal expression of Rous sarcoma virus in embryonic avian limb in ovo.

Embryonic avian tissue is resistant to the transforming potential of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) in ovo. Analysis of the pattern of host-viral interactions in the first semester of chick development has demonstrated that RSV is first expressed in a limited population of muscle precursor cells and proceeds to spread throughout the developing dorsal and ventral limb musculature. The number of non-muscle cells participating in the infection is initially low but gradually increases as development continues. The data show that RSV infection in ovo is both compatible with the process of differentiation and the maintenance of the differentiated state of the limb. The kinetics of viral spreading and competence for transformation are developmentally regulated in the embryo. The contrasting properties of embryonic cells in ovo as compared with those of the adult provide an opportunity for evaluating host related regulatory factors that are of significance to the expression of viral transforming function.

Epithelial-stromal interactions in the adult bladder: urothelial growth, differentiation, and maturation on culture facsimiles of bladder stroma.

Analysis of the responsiveness of isolated adult urothelium to a series of different stromal cell-extracellular matrix combinations demonstrated the capacity of stromal cells to induce and maintain normal patterns of urothelial growth, differentiation, and maturation in vitro. By incorporating embryonic mesenchymal derived (Swiss 3T3) cells into type I collagen matrices, simplified three-dimensional tissue-like facsimiles of bladder stroma were derived. When recombined with sheets of isolated urothelium these facsimiles could approximately reproduce the capacity of natural stromal tissue to support the expression of normal urothelial tissue specific characteristics. In contrast cocultures between urothelia and monolayers of 3T3 cells, applied to the surface of planar collagen substrata could only permit urothelial cell attachment but not growth or differentiation whereas lethally irradiated 3T3 (feeder) cells, under similar experimental conditions, could support the maintenance of an immature or incompletely differentiated urothelium. Conditioned medium elaborated by cultured 3T3 cells could not stimulate further differentiation in urothelia cultured alone on planar collagen substrata. These studies indicate that a significant portion of the regulatory capacity of the stroma in stromal-urothelial interactions can be accounted for by the activities of a closely applied population of stromal cells, provided the cells are viable and presented to the urothelium in a three-dimensional context in combination with collagen. The capacity of embryonic mesenchymal cells to express properties appropriate to the development of a multilayered terminally differentiated urothelium suggests that normal interactions between adult urothelium and stroma are of limited specificity with the urothelium requiring an essential input of permissive signals only.

The tyrosine phosphorylation substrate p36 is developmentally regulated in embryonic avian limb and is induced in cell culture.

The 36-kD protein-tyrosine kinase substrate p36 has been variously postulated to be involved in membrane-cytoskeletal interactions, membrane traffic, and the regulation of phospholipase A2, and its phosphorylation may play some role in malignant transformation by avian sarcoma viruses. Because embryonic tissues are resistant to transformation by avian sarcoma viruses, we have examined the expression of p36 in the developing avian embryonic limb. The level of p36 increased progressively from day 5 to day 14 of development. It was largely absent from day-5 mesenchyme, and was induced during the differentiation of mesenchymal cells into connective tissue and cartilage, but was not induced in differentiating muscle. In contrast, p36 was detected in ectodermal cells at all developmental stages examined. When day-5 limbs were dissociated and cultured, p36 was induced in all adherent cells, beginning at 2-4 h after plating, and reaching levels comparable to those observed with intact day-14 limb tissue within 48 h. The accumulation of p36 in culture was dependent on substratum adherence, suggesting that its stability is regulated by cell attachment or spreading. These findings are consistent with a structural or mechanical role for p36.

An ultrastructural analysis of the physical organization of collagenous (type I) matrices: one determinant of urothelium maintenance in vitro.

Collagenous matrices, used as cell culture substrata, can be prepared from different collagen types in a variety of forms using a range of polymerization procedures. Type I collagen has been most frequently used either as dried collagen films or hydrated collagen gels. Sheets of isolated bladder urothelium, when plated onto such matrices prepared from type I collagen by different polymerization methods (eg. air-drying; NaOH; NaCl; NH3; or NH3 followed by glutaraldehyde crosslinking) demonstrate the capability of urothelial cells to attach to a variety of differently prepared matrices irrespective of polymerization procedure. In contrast, both cell proliferation and maintenance of the urothelium are markedly influenced by the polymerized form of the collagen matrix. Comparative ultrastructural (scanning and transmission electron microscopy) analysis of these matrices demonstrates dissimilarities in their physical organization. The level of filamentous, fibrillar or fibrous reaggregation of solubilized collagen molecules varies in relation to the polymerization procedure used viz, a) air dried matrices form a dense meshwork of many forms of collagen fibrils and associated filaments with an irregular surface array of coarser collagen fibres; b) matrices prepared by NaOH, NaCl and NH3 polymerization present no major differences and form a felt of interlocking collagen fibres with discrete filamentous networks associated with these fibres; and c) matrices polymerized by NH3 and crosslinked with glutaraldehyde form a dense meshwork of filaments with a more occasional distribution of fibrils associated with filaments or dense "amorphous" aggregates. The level of supramolecular reassemblage of solubilized collagen may be, therefore, a significant factor in determining urothelial cell growth and differentiation on collagen matrices.

Free light chain synthesis by neoplastic cells in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Cell populations from twenty-two cases of B-cell neoplasia reflecting various stages of B-lymphocyte maturation were investigated for their ability to synthesise immunoglobulin (Ig) in vitro. All surface Ig positive neoplasms studied synthesised labelled Ig of the same light chain class as that expressed at the cell surface. Immature B-cell neoplasms, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and CLL-type lymphoma, synthesised only a minor proportion of their total protein as Ig; labelled free light chain was the only detectable secreted Ig product in thirteen cases and was in excess in the remaining four. Labelled heavy chain was detected in cell lysates in all but one case. Follicular centre cell lymphomas, neoplasms of more mature B-lymphocyte types, synthesised more of their total protein as Ig and showed a more balanced synthesis of heavy and light chains compared to the other neoplasms studies. The Ig synthesis patterns and, in particular, free light chain production, are discussed in relation to normal B-lymphocyte maturation.