Soluble CD44 inhibits melanoma tumor growth by blocking cell surface CD44 binding to hyaluronic acid.

Proteolytic cleavage of the extracellular domain of CD44 from the surface of cells has been observed recently in different cell types. In cell culture supernatants of human melanoma cell lines a 70 kDa soluble CD44 protein (solCD44) was detected at concentrations of 250-300 ng/ml. Protease inhibitor studies revealed that serine proteases and metalloproteases are involved in the cleavage of CD44 from the surface of melanoma cells. To analyse a possible function of soluble CD44 a human malignant melanoma cell line was stably transfected with cDNAs encoding either wild type soluble CD44s or mutated forms with defective HA binding properties (CD44sR41A and CD44sR150A/R154A). Soluble CD44s almost completely inhibited hyaluronic acid binding by melanoma cells, whereas soluble CD44 mutated in the HA binding domain had no effect. When cultivated on hyaluronic acid, melanoma cell proliferation was induced by 30% for both the parental and the control transfected cells. This increase in proliferation was blocked completely in solCD44s-secreting transfectants, whereas solCD44sR41A and solCD44sR150A/R154A-secreting cells again showed hyaluronic acid-induced cell proliferation. These cell lines were subcutaneously injected into MF1 nu/nu mice to compare their growth as tumors in vivo. Compared to tumors derived from parental and control transfected cells, we observed a dramatic reduction of primary tumor growth with solCD44s expressing MM cells. Transfectants expressing solCD44s mutated in the HA binding domain in contrast developed fast-growing primary tumors. These results provide strong evidence that direct solCD44 interactions with hyaluronic acid interfere competitively with processes induced by hyaluronic acid binding to surface CD44. Autocrine, or drug-induced secretion of solCD44 by human melanoma cells may thus exert potent antitumoral effects in vivo.