Variations of components of the plasminogen activation system with the cell cycle in benign prostate tissue and prostate cancer

Background: Components of the fibrinolytic system are involved in tumor cell invasion and metastasis. Previous investigations suggested a cell cycle-dependent expression of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) in epithelial cells. In order to determine a correlation of cell cycle phases with the fibrinolytic system, we investigated the expression of u-PA, tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), and plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) in normal and tumor-containing prostate extracts and analyzed a possible relationship with flow cytometry-determined proliferative activity of the samples. Cell cycle phases were correlated with fibrinolytic parameters in prostate tissue. Me…