Podoplanin (aggrus), a transmembrane sialoglycoprotein, is involved in tumor cell-induced platelet aggregation, tumor metastasis, and lymphatic vessel formation. However, the mechanism by which podoplanin induces these cellular processes including its receptor has not been elucidated to date. Podoplanin induced platelet aggregation with a long lag phase, which is dependent upon Src and phospholipase C␥2 activation. However, it does not bind to glycoprotein VI. This mode of platelet activation was reminiscent of the snake toxin rhodocytin, the receptor of which has been identified by us as a novel platelet activation receptor, C-type lectin-like receptor 2 (CLEC-2) (Suzuki-Inoue, K.

Platelets play an important role in hemostasis, thrombosis, and antimicrobial host defense and are also involved in the induction of inflammation, tissue repair, and tumor metastasis. We have previously characterized the platelet aggregation-inducing sialoglycoprotein (Aggrus/gp44) overexpressed on the surface of tumor cells. Because a platelet aggregation-neutralizing 8F11 monoclonal antibody that could specifically recognize Aggrus suppressed tumor-induced platelet aggregation, we have previously purified Aggrus by 8F11-affinity chromatography and found that purified Aggrus possessed the ability to induce aggregation of platelets. Here we show that Aggrus is identical to the T1␣/gp38P/ OTS-8 antigen, the function of which in tumors is unknown. Expression of mouse Aggrus and its human homologue (also known as T1␣-2/gp36) induced platelet aggregation without requiring plasma components. Using the 8F11 antibody, we identified the highly conserved platelet aggregation-stimulating domain with putative O-glycosylated threonine residues as the critical determinant for exhibiting platelet aggregation-inducing capabilities. We compared the expression level of human aggrus mRNA using an array containing 160 cDNA pair samples derived from multiple human tumorigenic and corresponding normal tissues from individual patients. We found that expression level of aggrus was enhanced in most colorectal tumor patients. To confirm the protein expression, we generated anti-human Aggrus polyclonal antibodies. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that Aggrus expression was frequently up-regulated in colorectal tumors. These results suggest that Aggrus/T1␣ is a newly identified, platelet aggregation-inducing factor expressed in colorectal tumors.Specific glycoproteins expressed on the surface of platelets enable the platelets to adhere to receptors exposed in areas of vascular damage (1). The process of adhesion activates platelet aggregation, leading to the formation of a platelet plug in the vessel wall. Activated platelets also induce the formation of a fibrin clot by carrying coagulation factors and providing a catalytic surface for the major interactions of the coagulation cascade. Because there exists a clear link between atherosclerotic vascular disease, inflammation, tumor metastasis, and thrombosis (1-3), it is important to identify the mechanisms of platelet aggregation that have pathobiologic, prognostic, and treatment-related relevance. Studies on cancer metastasis have shown that some human and animal tumor cells possess platelet aggregation-inducing abilities that correlate with their metastatic potential (2, 3). Interactions between tumor cells and platelets have been considered to facilitate the arrest of tumor cell cluster in the microcirculation with the subsequent formation of experimental metastasis. However, the molecules associated with the tumor-induced platelet aggregation have not yet been identified.We previously established several clones possessing different platelet aggregation-inducing capabilities from ...

The mucin-type sialoglycoprotein podoplanin (aggrus) is involved in tumor cell-induced platelet aggregation and tumor metastasis. C-type lectin-like receptor-2 (CLEC-2) was recently identified as an endogenous receptor of podoplanin on platelets. However, the pathophysiological importance and function of CLEC-2 have not been elucidated. Here we clarified the pathophysiological interaction between podoplanin and CLEC-2 in vitro and in vivo. Using several deletion mutants of CLEC-2 expressed as Fc chimeras, we first identified an important podoplanin-recognition domain in CLEC-2. Furthermore, the podoplanin-CLEC-2 interaction was confirmed using several deletion mutants of podoplanin expressed as Fc chimeras. Not only the disialyl-core1-attached glycopeptide but also the stereostructure of the podoplanin protein was found to be critical for the CLEC-2-binding activity of podoplanin. We next synthesized various glycopeptides of podoplanin that included both the platelet aggregation-stimulating domain and O-glycan on Thr52. Interestingly, a disialyl-core1-attached glycopeptide was recognized specifically by CLEC-2. Moreover, the anti-podoplanin monoclonal antibody NZ-1 suppressed both the podoplanin-CLEC-2 interaction and podoplanin-induced pulmonary metastasis, suggesting that CLEC-2 is the first pathophysiological receptor of podoplanin to be identified. In summary, we clarified the molecular interaction in vitro and in vivo between a platelet aggregation-inducing factor, podoplanin, and its specific pathophysiological receptor on platelets, CLEC-2. Podoplanin and CLEC-2 might represent promising therapeutic targets in cancer metastasis. (Cancer Sci 2008; 99: 54-61) T umor metastasis is known to be associated with a plateletaggregating activity possessed by human and other mammalian cancers, implying that aggregation is important in tumor-cell nestling, whereas released growth factors are important in angiogenesis or tumor growth. (1) A previous study has clarified that podoplanin (also known as aggrus), a membranous sialoglycoprotein in cancer cells of mice (44 kDa) and humans (36 kDa), aggregates platelets with no relation to plasma components. (2) Podoplanin is also known to be a lymphatic-specific marker, (3) and its expression has been reported in several tumor cells, including squamous cell carcinoma, (4-6) mesothelioma, (7) testicular seminoma, (8) and brain tumors, (9,10) although podoplanin is not expressed in gastrointestinal, pulmonary, or mammary adenocarcinomas, which frequently undergo metastasis. (7) Recent investigations have reinforced the notion that the expression of podoplanin in several tumors is associated with tumor metastasis or progression. (6,10,11) Podoplanin belongs to the family of type-I transmembrane sialomucin-like glycoproteins that comprise an extracellular domain with abundant Ser and Thr residues as potential O-glycosylation sites, a single transmembrane portion, and a short cytoplasmic tail with putative sites for protein kinase C and cAMP phosphorylation. (12) We previously sh...

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Podoplanin (PDPN/Aggrus/T1α), a platelet aggregation-inducing mucin-like sialoglycoprotein, is highly expressed in many cancers and normal tissues. A neutralizing monoclonal antibody (mAb; NZ-1) can block the association between podoplanin and C-type lectin-like receptor-2 (CLEC-2) and inhibit podoplanin-induced cancer metastasis, but NZ-1 reacts with podoplanin-expressing normal cells such as lymphatic endothelial cells. In this study, we established a cancer-specific mAb (CasMab) against human podoplanin. Aberrantly glycosylated podoplanin including keratan sulfate or aberrant sialylation, which was expressed in LN229 glioblastoma cells, was used as an immunogen. The newly established LpMab-2 mAb recognized both an aberrant O-glycosylation and a Thr55-Leu64 peptide from human podoplanin. Because LpMab-2 reacted with podoplanin-expressing cancer cells but not with normal cells, as shown by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry, it is an anti-podoplanin CasMab that is expected to be useful for molecular targeting therapy against podoplanin-expressing cancers.