Diverse tumorigenesis associated with aberrant development in mice overexpressing hepatocyte growth factor scatter factor

Hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) is a mesenchymally derived, multifunctional paracrine regulator possessing mitogenic, mitogenic, and morphogenetic activities in cultured epithelial cells containing its tyrosine kinase receptor, Met, c-met has been implicated in oncogenesis through correlation of expression with malignant phenotype in specific cell lines and tumors, Paradoxically, however, HGF/SF can also inhibit the growth of some tumor cells. To elucidate the oncogenic role of HGF/SF in vivo, transgenic mice were created such that HGF/SF was inappropriately targeted to a variety of tissues, HGF/SF transb genic mice developed a remarkably broad array of histologically distinct tumors of both mesenchymal and epithelial origin, Many neoplasms arose from tissues exhibiting abnormal development, including the mammary gland, skeletal muscle, and melanocytes, suggesting a functional link between mechanisms regulating morphogenesis and those promoting tumorigenesis, Most neoplasms, especially melanomas, demonstrated overexpression of both the HGF/SF transgene and endogenous c-met, and had enhanced Met kinase activity, strongly suggesting that autocrine signaling broadly promotes tumorigenesis. Thus, subversion of normal mesenchymal-epithelial paracrine regulation through the forced misdirection of HGF/SF expression induces aberrant morphogenesis and subsequent malignant transformation of cells of diverse origin.