[Association of intracellular proteinase activities with the content of locomotor proteins in tissues of primary tumors and metastasis in ovarian cancer].

The ability to active movement in extracellular matrix wherein significant role plays remodeling of the cytoskeleton by actin-binding proteins may influence on the metastatic potential of tumor cells. We studied the expression of actin-binding proteins and β-catenin in connection with proteasome and calpain functioning in the tissues of primary tumors and metastases of ovarian cancer. The chymotrypsin-like proteasome activity and calpain activity were shown to be significantly higher in ovarian cancer than in normal tissues. Furthermore, the activity of the proteasome and calpain were significantly higher in the peritoneal metastases in comparison with primary tumors. Correlation analysis showed in the primary tumor tissue the presence of a positive relationship between the activity of calpain and chymotrypsin-like proteasome activity (r = 0.82; p = 0.0005), whereas in metastases this connection was not revealed. Contents of p45 Ser β-catenin and the actin-severing protein gelzolin were decreased in metastases relative to primary tumors. Level of cofilin, functionally similar to gelzolin protein, was significantly higher in metastases compared to primary ovarian tumor tissue. In ovarian cancer significant reduction in the number of the monomer binder protein thymosin-β4 was observed in primary tumors and metastases as compared to normal tissues, but significant differences between the primary tumor and metastases were not observed. In the tissues of primary tumors negative correlations were observed between the chymotrypsin-like activity of the proteasome and the amount of p45 Ser β-catenin and protein Arp3, a member of the Arp2/3 complex. In metastasis negative correlation were revealed between the activity of calpain and content Arp3, cofilin, thymosin. The data obtained suggest the existence of different mechanisms of proteolytic regulation of locomotor proteins in primary tumors and metastases in ovarian cancer.