We have previously shown that, in mouse NIH/3T3 cells, it is necessary to coexpress the gene for human hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SFhu) with its receptor, the human met protooncogene (methu), to activate the transforming activity of the receptor (S. Rong, M. Bodescot, D. Blair, T. Nakamura, K. Mizuno, M. Park, A. Chan, S. Aaronson, and GF Vande Woude, Mol. Cell. Biol., 12: 5152-5158, 1992). In this study, we report that exceptionally high levels of the ligand and its receptor are expressed in tumor cell explants after several tumor passages through nude mice. Confluent tumor cells explanted after the second passage in nude mice can express 1700 units/ml/10 (6) cells/72 h of scatter activity as determined in Madin-Darby canine kidney cell scatter assays. The motogenic factor produced by these cells is easily purified by heparin-Sepharose chromatography, and the purified factor efficiently induces tyrosine phosphorylation of Methu in YaOvBix2NMA human ovarian carcinoma cells. To account for the unusually high level of HGF/SFhu and Methu expression, we propose that normal levels of Methu receptor are inefficient at transducing the signal (s) required for transformation of mouse cells. Therefore, high levels of Methu receptor are required for tumorigenesis, and corresponding high levels of the ligand are required to induce the signal. Consistent with this model, endogenous mouse scatter factor is not detected in conditioned medium from cells transformed by overexpression of the Metmu receptor.