Tissue factor in cancer angiogenesis and metastasis.

Tumor cells frequently express tissue factor, a transmembrane glycoprotein that functions as the cellular receptor and catalytic cofactor for the serine protease factor VIIa. In human tumors, tissue factor expression correlates spatially with neovascularization, indicating that tissue factor function may be linked to angiogenic properties of malignant tumors. Tissue factor also supports hematogenous tumor dissemination. The role of tissue factor in metastasis appears to involve both the coagulation pathway triggered by interactions of the tissue factor extracellular domain as well as cellular events dependent on the short cytoplasmic domain that may participate in tissue factor-mediated outside-in signaling.