Proteinase-Activated Receptor-2 (PAR2): A Tumor Suppressor in Skin Carcinogenesis

The proteinase-activated receptor PAR2 has been demonstrated to modulate tumor growth, invasion and metastasis in various tissues. However, the role of PAR2 in cutaneous cancerogenesis is still unknown. Here we could show a protective role of PAR2 in the development of epidermal skin tumors: we established a mouse skin tumor model using chemically induced carcinogenesis. Tumors started to appear after eight weeks. After 13 weeks, PAR2-deficient mice showed a significantly increased number of skin tumors (14 per animal on the average) in contrast to the wild type (eight tumors per mouse). Analysis of possible signal transduction pathways activated upon PAR2 stimulation in HaCaT keratinocytes showed an involvement of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 and profound epidermal growth factor receptor transactivation, leading to secretion of the tumor-suppressing factor transforming growth factor-β1. Thus, our results provide early experimental evidence for a tumor-protective role of PAR2.