5-Bromo-2-deoxyuridine regulates invasiveness and expression of integrins and matrix-degrading proteinases in a differentiated hamster melanoma cell.

Cell interactions with the extracellular matrix play a critical role in regulating complex processes such as terminal differentiation and tumor progression. In these studies we describe a melanoma cell system that should be useful in addressing the regulation of cell-matrix interactions and the roles they play in regulating differentiation and cell invasiveness. CS (suspension)-1 melanoma cells are relatively well differentiated: they are melanotic, responsive to melanocyte-stimulating hormone, and express TA99, a melanosome membrane differentiation marker. Their repertoire of integrin receptors for extracellular matrix ligands is limited; in particular, they lack receptors for vitronectin, accounting for the observation that they are nonadherent when cultured in the presence of serum. CS-1 cells are noninvasive as well, and express low levels of both metalloproteinases and activated plasminogen activators. Treatment of these cells with melanocyte-stimulating hormone causes them to increase melanin production and assume an arborized phenotype, suggesting that it promotes their further differentiation. In contrast, treatment of CS-1 with the thymidine analog 5-bromodeoxyuridine, converts them to a highly invasive cell population (termed BCS-1) that loses its differentiated properties and responsiveness to melanocyte-stimulating hormone, acquires a broad integrin repertoire (including vitronectin receptors), and expresses elevated levels of metalloproteinases and activated urokinase. From these observations and findings of others on BrdU treatment of other developmental lineages, we hypothesize that BrdU both suppresses differentiation and promotes invasiveness of CS-1 cells. The demonstrated manipulability of CS-1 cells should make them extremely useful for studying the regulation of both terminal differentiation and tumor progression in the melanocyte lineage.