Bone sialoprotein promotes tumor cell migration in both in vitro and in vivo models.

The present study was conducted to determine the effects of bone sialoprotein (BSP) in promoting vascular invasion of tumor cells in metastasis. We used a Matrigel system and the MDA-231 human breast cancer cells transfected with human BSP cDNA (MDA-231/BSP). Quantative analysis indicated an average of 1.7-fold increase in cell numbers that migrated through the endothelial cells in MDA-231/BSP cells compared with empty vector-transfected MDA-231 cells (MDA-231/EV). In an in vivo assay, the MDA-231 cells were incubated with or without BSP antibodies and were then inoculated onto the upper chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) of chicken embryos, in which the only route for the tumor cells to reach the lower CAM was to migrate through the embryonic vasculature. PCR amplification using human Alu primers and genomic DNA from harvested lower CAM showed an average reduction of 67% in the samples treated with BSP antibodies. These preliminary data suggest that, in metastasis, BSP may enhance the penetrating ability of tumor cells through endothelial cells and basement membrane into blood vessels. BSP antibodies can specifically hinder this effect in an in vivo system.