PLASMINOGEN ACTIVATORS AND INHIBITOR TYPE-1 IN NEOPLASTIC COLONIC TISSUE FROM PATIENTS WITH FAMILIAL ADENOMATOUS POLYPOSIS

The plasminogen activation cascade is involved in carcinogenesis, inva sion and metastasis. In this study plasminogen activators and their ty pe 1 inhibitor were evaluated in colonic tissue from 19 patients with familial adenomatous polyposis coli, an inherited disorder characteris ed by the presence of thousands of adenomatous polyps in the colorectu m which predispose to colorectal cancer. The conversion of normal-appe aring colonic mucosa to neoplastic tissue in these patients was associ ated with an increase in urokinase-type plasminogen activator and plas minogen activator inhibitor type 1, accompanied by a decreased level o f tissue-type plasminogen activator. These observations are essentiall y similar to those found in solitary adenomas and carcinomas of the co lon, and illustrate the uniform involvement of the plasminogen activat ion system in colorectal carcinogenesis.