C-met activation is necessary but not sufficient for liver colonization by B16 murine melanoma cells

Metastasis to the liver is a frequent event in clinical oncology, the molecular mechanisms of which are not fully understood. We have recently reported a consistent overexpression of c-met in B16 melanoma cells selected in vivo for enhanced liver metastatic ability. In this study we address the ques...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical & experimental metastasis 1998-04, Vol.16 (3), p.253-265
Main Authors: Lin, S, Rusciano, D, Lorenzoni, P, Hartmann, G, Birchmeier, W, Giordano, S, Comoglio, P, Burger, M M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Autocrine Communication
Enzyme Activation
Hepatocyte Growth Factor - metabolism
Humans
Liver Neoplasms - secondary
Lung Neoplasms - secondary
Melanoma - metabolism
Melanoma - pathology
Mice
Neoplasm Metastasis
Phosphotyrosine - metabolism
Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met - metabolism
Tumor Cells, Cultured
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Summary:Metastasis to the liver is a frequent event in clinical oncology, the molecular mechanisms of which are not fully understood. We have recently reported a consistent overexpression of c-met in B16 melanoma cells selected in vivo for enhanced liver metastatic ability. In this study we address the question as to whether constitutive activation of c-met is a necessary and sufficient condition for enhanced liver colonization by B16 melanoma cells. Different levels of c-met expression and/or activation in B16 cells were achieved by subcloning, or by c-DNA transfection with either HGF/SF or the oncogenic form of c-met (tpr-met). Metastatic ability of the different populations was then evaluated in vivo by the lung colonization (experimental metastasis) assay. Results indicate that c-met (but not tpr-met) activation in B16 melanoma cells may increase their liver colonizing potential, probably by enhancing motility and invasion in response to paracrine interactions with its ligand. C-met expression per se, however, is not able to change the organ specificity of the cells. C-met activation appears instead to be required at later stages of liver colonization by B16 melanoma cells, in order to enhance their site-specific metastatic ability.
ISSN:0262-0898
1573-7276
DOI:10.1023/A:1006596909948