The lectin concanavalin A (ConA) causes fibroblasts to acquire an arborized morphology and to express elevated levels of collagenase. The temporal and mechanistic aspects of ConA regulation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and the tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMP) were characterized in early passage human fibroblasts. Collagenase (MMP-1), measured by functional assays in the absence of TIMP and also as immunoprecipitated [35S]methionine-labeled protein, was increased 10-20-fold following ConA (20 micrograms/ml, 2 x 10(-7) M) treatment for 24-72 h, with active collagenase comprising approximately 20% of the total collagenase activity. By comparison, MMP-2 (72-kDa gelatinase; molecular mass, 72 kDa, +dithiothreitol; 66 kDa, -dithiothreitol), analyzed by enzymography and following affinity purification, was increased less than 2-fold by ConA and was present entirely as an activated, 61-kDa (+dithiothreitol; 59 kDa, -dithiothreitol) form. Northern hybridization analyses revealed that ConA elevated the steady-state mRNA levels for MMPs; collagenase mRNA increased approximately 16-fold, MMP-2 increased 2-fold, and Pump-1, a recently described MMP gene, was induced. Concomitantly, a 10-fold reduction in TIMP protein and mRNA levels by ConA occurred. In comparison, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (50 ng/ml, 8 x 10(-8) M), which also stimulates collagenase expression strongly (greater than 30-fold), elevated TIMP protein and mRNA levels (2- and 3-fold, respectively) and did not affect MMP-2 expression. The changes in MMP and TIMP mRNA levels induced by ConA were blocked by the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide, and the half-lives of collagenase and MMP-2 mRNAs (53 and 46 h, respectively) were unaffected, indicating that ConA exerts its effects transcriptionally, through pathways requiring de novo protein synthesis. Increased transcription of the mmp genes was confirmed by nuclear run-on analyses; mmp-1 transcription was increased by greater than 25-fold, mmp-2 by approximately 3-fold, and Pump-1 by approximately 7-fold. In contrast, Timp gene transcription was reduced by approximately 80%, revealing reciprocal regulation of MMPs and TIMP during the induction of a resorptive cell phenotype. Decreased amounts of collagen and fibronectin, but not of SPARC (secreted protein, acidic and rich in cysteine) in the conditioned medium was the result of MMP activity since steady-state mRNA levels and transcription of the respective matrix protein genes were unaffected by ConA.