Urokinase-type plasminogen activator and plasminogen activator inhibitors (PAI-1 and PAI-2) in extracts of invasive cervical carcinoma and precursor lesions

In a previous study we reported a direct correlation between the degree of total proteolytic activity and the natural history of cervical carcinoma. The present work examined whether an increase in the urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and the plasminogen activator inhibitors (PAIs) is correlated with the natural history of cervical carcinoma. We measured uPA and PAI-1 activities and uPA, PAI-1 and PAI-2 antigen concentrations in cervical extracts from normal, squamous intra-epithelial lesions (SIL) or invasive carcinoma patients. The uPA activity in invasive carcinoma extracts was 8.46 times that of normal extracts and 4.9 times that of SIL extracts. The PAI-1 activity in invasive carcinoma extracts was 1.3 times that of normal extracts and 1.24 times that of SIL extracts. uPA, PAI-1 and PAI-2 amounts were 25.7-, 12.1- and 7.9-fold higher, respectively, in invasive carcinoma than in SIL, and 39.1-, 21.38- and 27.3-fold higher, respectively, than in normal extracts. uPA and PAI-1 activities were 2.02- and 1.42-fold higher in extracts from patients with stages II–IV than those from stage I extracts, respectively. uPA, PAI-1 and PAI-2 amounts were 3.06-, 4.2- and 1.4-fold higher in extracts from patients with stages II–IV than those from stage I extracts, respectively. The increase in uPA activity and the antigen levels of uPA and PAIs (PAI-1 and PAI-2) in stages II–IV of invasive carcinoma of the cervix suggests that these components play an important role in invasion and metastasis in advanced stages of this tumour.