Matrix metalloproteinases in blood vessel development in human fetal skin and in cutaneous tumors.

In vitro angiogenesis models suggest that new blood vessel formation requires the induction and secretion by endothelial cells of matrix metalloproteinases. These enzymes assist in the controlled proteolytic degradation of the surrounding extracellular matrix during blood vessel formation. The results of in vitro studies cannot be extrapolated directly to the process of in vivo angiogenesis because the type of matrix employed and the repertoire of enzymes secreted by cells in vivo differ dramatically from in vivo conditions. To investigate the in vivo role of matrix metalloproteinases in blood vessel development, we looked for the presence of these proteinases in endothelial cells involved in fetal angiogenesis and in neovascularization of certain invasive skin tumors using immunofluorescent staining. In fetal tissue, interstitial collagenase was present in both early microvessels developing from undifferentiated mesoderm and in microvessels involved in elongation and sprout formation from preexisting blood vessels. In aggressive skin tumors, i.e., morpheaform and recurrent basal cell carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas, there was a marked increase in the number of collagenase-containing blood vessels, often extending into the tumor nests. Immunofluorescent staining failed to detect stromelysin, matrilysin, or gelatinase A and B (72- and 92-kDa type IV collagenases, respectively) in fetal or tumor blood vessels. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that proteolytic degradation of the extracellular matrix is required for the formation of new blood vessels. Interstitial collagenase appears to play an important role in this process.