Prosaposin inhibits tumor metastasis via paracrine and endocrine stimulation of stromal p53 and Tsp-1

doi:10.1073/pnas.0903120106

Prosaposin inhibits tumor metastasis via paracrine and endocrine stimulation of stromal p53 and Tsp-1

^aVascular Biology Program, Department of Surgery, Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA 02115;
^bDepartment of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115;
^cThe Gade Institute, Section for Pathology, University of Bergen, Haukeland University Hospital, N-5021 Bergen, Norway;
^dDepartment of Biochemical Sciences, Harvard College, Cambridge, MA 02138; and
^eDepartment of Surgery, Section of Urology, University of Bergen, Haukeland University Hospital, N-5021 Bergen, Norway

Communicated by Robert A Weinberg, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, May 15, 2009 (received for review January 5, 2009)

Abstract

Metastatic tumors can prepare a distant site for colonization via the secretion of factors that act in a systemic manner. We hypothesized that non- or weakly metastatic human tumor cells may act in an opposite fashion by creating a microenvironment in distant tissues that is refractory to colonization. By comparing cell lines with different metastatic potential, we have identified a tumor-secreted inhibitor of metastasis, prosaposin (Psap), which functions in a paracrine and endocrine fashion by stimulating the expression of thrombospondin-1 (Tsp-1) in fibroblasts present in both primary tumors and distant organs, doing so in a p53-dependent manner. Introduction of Psap in highly metastatic cells significantly reduced the occurrence of metastases, whereas inhibition of Psap production by tumor cells was associated with increased metastatic frequency. In human prostate cancer, decreased Psap expression was significantly associated with metastatic tumors. Our findings suggest that prosaposin, or other agents that stimulate p53 activity in the tumor stroma, may be an effective therapy by inhibition of the metastatic process.

Footnotes

¹To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: randy.watnick{at}childrens.harvard.edu
Author contributions: S.-Y.K., L.A.A., and R.S.W. designed research; S.-Y.K., O.J.H., K.G., N.B., J.M.L., N.W.L., B.T.J., A.B.J., S.A.H., K.I.A., S.M.Y., L.A.A., and R.S.W. performed research; S.-Y.K., O.J.H., K.G., N.B., L.A.A., and R.S.W. analyzed data; and S.-Y.K., L.A.A., and R.S.W. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/0903120106/DCSupplemental.