The metalloproteinase stromelysin-1 (transin) mediates PC12 cell growth cone invasiveness through basal laminae.

Matrix metalloproteinases have been implicated in various extracellular matrix remodeling events that occur during normal development and in a number of pathologies. In previous work with PC12 rat pheochromocytoma cells, we found that the matrix metalloproteinase stromelysin-1 (ST1) was highly induced by nerve growth factor (NGF), but not by epidermal growth factor (EGF). Here, we show that ST1 immunoreactivity is present in growth cones of NGF-treated PC12 cells, but not EGF-treated or untreated cells. To determine whether ST1 expression confers neurite invasiveness, three lines of PC12 cells were produced that constitutively express ST1 antisense mRNA. These lines expressed and secreted significantly reduced levels of ST1 protein, as determined by immunoblot and immunocytochemical methods, but otherwise responded normally to NGF-treatment by elaborating neurites. We found, however, that the neurites of these ST1 antisense cells showed a significantly reduced ability to penetrate a Matrigel reconstituted basal lamina, as compared to the parental cells, suggesting that ST1 confers neurite invasiveness. Finally, we show that ST1 is also expressed in vivo in sections through Embryonic Day 15 rat embryos, including neurons of both the peripheral and central nervous systems. These data indicate that ST1 may play a role in axonal growth in vivo, including a role in growth cone invasiveness.