Erythromycin and clarithromycin modulation of growth factor-induced expression of heparanase mRNA on human lung cancer cells in vitro

Abstract

Heparanase activity is correlated with the metastatic potential of several cancer cells and is a key enzyme in the breakdown of tissue barriers. It is also involved in the regulation of growth factor and cytokine activity. However, little is known about the factors that induce heparanase in cancer cells. We investigated the effect of three growth factors, plateletderived growth factor (PDGF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), on heparanase mRNA induction in lung cancer cells in vitro. In addition, we examined the effect of erythromycin (EM) and clarithromycin (CAM), which are 14-membered ring macrolide antibiotics that act as biological response modifiers, on the expression of heparanase mRNA induced by growth factors.