Human osteosarcoma cells release matrix degrading enzymes in response to chemokine activation

Matrix degrading enzymes released upon autocrine and/or paracrine induction exert a key role in modulating tumor cell behavior. Osteosarcoma is a high ly metastatic cancer, with a redundancy of autocrine loops.:Here we report that human osteosarcoma cells express a wide array of chemokine receptors a nd respond to chemokine activation with the release of N-acetyl-beta -D-glu cosaminidase and gelatinase/collagenase activity. Of the two cell lines stu died, the osteoblast-like MG-63 showed a higher responsivity compared to th e less differentiated HOS. This suggests that chemokine modulation of matri x degrading enzymes requires the maintaining of the osteoblastic phenotype and of signaling pathways which occur in normal tissue.