Human breast and colon carcinomas express cysteine proteinase activities with pro-aggregating and pro-coagulant properties.

We have investigated concomitantly the pro-aggregating and pro-coagulant activities of 11 breast and 2 colon human carcinomas. Tumor tissues, obtained at surgery, were immediately processed to prepare tumor-cell suspensions for the study of aggregating activity and tissue extracts for the study of procoagulant capacity. Nine carcinomas (8 breast and 1 colon) possessed a high, dose-dependent platelet-aggregating activity, which was present in the cell-free supernatant and was inhibited by HgCl2 and iodoacetic acid, specific cysteine proteinase inhibitors, while apyrase and hirudin had no significant effect; in contrast, the other tumors did not aggregate platelets. All the tumor extracts tested from 12 carcinomas (11 breast and 1 colon) were able to activate blood coagulation in both the presence and the absence of F VII. The activity was inhibited by HgCl2 and iodoacetamide, while Con A was less effective. Therefore, these tumors do not aggregate platelets through the production of ADP or thrombin, nor promote blood coagulation through the production and release of tissue factor; a tumor-associated cysteine proteinase plays a major role in both pro-aggregating and pro-coagulant activities.