Acquisition of metastatic competence by tumor cells is frequently accompanied by increased expression of extracellular proteases capable of degrading basement membrane and extracellular matrix. However, very little is known about how the genes encoding these enzymes and their inhibitor proteins are regulated in metastatic versus nonmetastatic cells. In this report, we have compared autocrine and paracrine regulation of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMP), transin, and urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) genes in genetically related nonmetastatic SP1 and metastatic A3a cell lines. Compared to SP1 cells, metastatic A3a cells showed 15-20-fold higher transin, 3-5-fold less TIMP mRNA, and comparable levels of uPA mRNA. A qualitatively similar shift in expression of these genes was rapidly (i.e., 4-8 h) induced in nonmetastatic SP1 cells following the addition of conditioned medium from A3a cells. The gene-regulating activity present in A3a conditioned medium was heat-labile, suggesting that it was protein in nature. The responsiveness of SP1 cells to the factor(s) secreted by A3a conditioned medium was inhibited by cycloheximide. Basic fibroblast growth factor mimicked the effect of the A3a conditioned medium as an inducer of transin expression in the tumor cells. Although medium conditioned by the tumor cells did not affect uPA expression, addition of epidermal growth factor to the tumor cells transiently induced expression of uPA with a biphasic response that differed in SP1 and A3a cells. Initial induction of uPA at 2-4 h was similar for both cell lines, but after 24 h of exposure to epidermal growth factor, SP1 cells showed a net reduction in uPA, whereas metastatic cells returned to the unstimulated levels.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)