MMPs and angiogenesis affect the metastatic potential of a human vulvar leiomyosarcoma cell line

Gynaecological leiomyosarcoma (gLMS) represent a heterogeneous group of soft tissue sarcoma, characterized by rare incidence, high aggressiveness and propensity to infiltrate secondary organs, poor prognosis and lethality, because of the lack of biological mechanisms that underlying their progression and effective pharmaceutical treatments. This study was focused on some of the aspects of progression and dissemination of a subtype of gLMS namely vulvar LMS (vLMS). We therefore used a vulvar LMS-derived cell line namely SK-LMS-1, coupled with in vitro and in vivo assays. We observed that SK-LMS-1 cells have a strong invasive capacity in vitro, through the activity of matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9, while in vivo these cells induce a strong angiogenic response and disseminate to the chick embryo liver. Therefore, we postulate that metalloproteinases are involved in the spreading behaviour of SK-LMS-1. Further investigations are necessary to better understand the molecular and cellular machinery involved in the progression of this malignancy.