Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus infection promotes invasion of primary human umbilical vein endothelial cells by inducing matrix metalloproteinases.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play important roles in cancer invasion, angiogenesis, and inflammatory infiltration. Kaposi's sarcoma is a highly disseminated angiogenic tumor of proliferative endothelial cells linked to infection by Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV). In this study, we showed that KSHV infection increased the invasiveness of primary human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) in a Matrigel-based cell invasion assay. KSHV-induced cell invasion was abolished by an inhibitor of MMPs, BB-94, and occurred in both autocrine- and paracrine-dependent fashions. Analysis by zymography and Western blotting showed that KSHV-infected HUVEC cultures had increased secretion of MMP-1, -2, and -9. KSHV increased the secretion of MMP-2 within 1 h following infection without upregulating its mRNA expression level. In contrast, the secretion of MMP-1 and -9 was not increased until 6 h after KSHV infection and was correlated with the upregulation of their mRNA expression levels. Promoter analysis by reporter assays and electrophoretic mobility shift assays identified an AP-1 cis-element as the dominant KSHV-responsive site in the MMP-1 promoter. Together, these results suggest that KSHV infection modulates the production of multiple MMPs to increase cell invasiveness and thus contributes to the pathogenesis of KSHV-induced malignancies.