The integrin signalling adaptor p130CAS is also a key player in prostate cancer

Integrin α5 promotes migration and invasion through the FAK/STAT3/AKT signaling pathway in icotinib-resistant non-small cell lung cancer cells

Patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) ultimately develop drug resistance and metastasis. Therefore, there is a need to identify the underlying mechanisms of resistance to EGFR-TKIs. In the present study, colony formation and MTT assays were performed to investigate cell viability following treatment with icotinib. Gene Expression Omnibus datasets were used to identify genes associated with resistance. Wound healing and Transwell assays were used to detect cell migration and invasion with icotinib treatment and integrin α5-knockdown. The expression levels of integrin α5 and downstream genes were detected using western blotting. Stable icotinib-resistant (IcoR) cell lines (827/IcoR and PC9/IcoR) were established that showed enhanced malignant properties compared with parental cells (HCC827 and PC9). Furthermore, the resistant cell lines were resistant to icotinib in terms of proliferation, migration and invasion. The enrichment of function and signaling pathways analysis showed that integrin α5-upregulation was associated with the development of icotinib resistance. The knockdown of integrin α5 attenuated the migration and invasion capability of the resistant cells. Moreover, a combination of icotinib and integrin α5 siRNA significantly inhibited migration and partly restored icotinib sensitivity in IcoR cells. The expression levels of phosphorylated (p)-focal adhesion kinase (FAK), p-STAT3 and p-AKT decreased after knockdown of integrin α5, suggesting that FAK/STAT3/AKT signaling had a notable effect on the resistant cells. The present study revealed that the integrin α5/FAK/STAT3/AKT signaling pathway promoted icotinib resistance and malignancy in IcoR NSCLC cells. This signaling pathway may provide promising targets against acquired resistance to EGFR-TKI in patients with NSCLC.

The interaction of p130Cas with PKN3 promotes malignant growth

Protein p130Cas constitutes an adaptor protein mainly involved in integrin signaling downstream of Src kinase. Owing to its modular structure, p130Cas acts as a general regulator of cancer cell growth and invasiveness induced by different oncogenes. However, other mechanisms of p130Cas signaling leading to malignant progression are poorly understood. Here, we show a novel interaction of p130Cas with Ser/Thr kinase PKN3, which is implicated in prostate and breast cancer growth downstream of phosphoinositide 3‐kinase. This direct interaction is mediated by the p130Cas SH3 domain and the centrally located PKN3 polyproline sequence. PKN3 is the first identified Ser/Thr kinase to bind and phosphorylate p130Cas and to colocalize with p130Cas in cell structures that have a pro‐invasive function. Moreover, the PKN3–p130Cas interaction is important for mouse embryonic fibroblast growth and invasiveness independent of Src transformation, indicating a mechanism distinct from that previously characterized for p130Cas. Together, our results suggest that the PKN3–p130Cas complex represents an attractive therapeutic target in late‐stage malignancies.

Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) assembles a macromolecular complex regulating growth and survival of prostate cancer cells "in vitro" and correlating with progression "in vivo"

The expression of Prostate Specific-Membrane Antigen (PSMA) increases in high-grade prostate carcinoma envisaging a role in growth and progression. We show here that clustering PSMA at LNCaP or PC3-PSMA cell membrane activates AKT and MAPK pathways thus promoting proliferation and survival. PSMA activity was dependent on the assembly of a macromolecular complex including filamin A, beta1 integrin, p130CAS, c-Src and EGFR. Within this complex beta1 integrin became activated thereby inducing a c-Src-dependent EGFR phosphorylation at Y¹⁰⁸⁶ and Y¹¹⁷³ EGF-independent residues. Silencing or blocking experiments with drugs demonstrated that all the complex components were required for full PSMA-dependent promotion of cell growth and/or survival in 3D culture, but that p130CAS and EGFR exerted a major role. All PSMA complex components were found assembled in multiple samples of two high-grade prostate carcinomas and associated with EGFR phosphorylation at Y¹⁰⁸⁶. The expression of p130CAS and pEGFR^Y1086 was thus analysed by tissue micro array in 16 castration-resistant prostate carcinomas selected from 309 carcinomas and stratified from GS 3+4 to GS 5+5. Patients with Gleason Score ≤5 resulted negative whereas those with GS≥5 expressed p130CAS and pEGFR^Y1086 in 75% and 60% of the cases, respectively.

Collectively, our results demonstrate for the first time that PSMA recruits a functionally active complex which is present in high-grade patients. In addition, two components of this complex, p130CAS and the novel pEGFR^Y1086, correlate with progression in castration-resistant patients and could be therefore useful in therapeutic or surveillance strategies of these patients.

LPA Stimulates the Phosphorylation of p130Cas via Gαi2 in Ovarian Cancer Cells

Ovarian cancer is the most deadly gynecological cancer, with previous studies implicating lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) in the progression of approximately 90% of all ovarian cancers. LPA potently stimulates the tyrosine phosphorylation of p130Cas, a scaffolding protein, which, upon phosphorylation, recruits an array of signaling molecules to promote tumor cell migration. Our work presented here identifies Gαi2 as the major G protein involved in tyrosine phosphorylation of p130Cas in a panel of ovarian cancer cells consisting of HeyA8, SKOV3, and OVCA429. Our results also indicate that the G12 family of G proteins that are also involved in LPA-mediated migration inhibits tyrosine phosphorylation of p130Cas. Using p130Cas siRNA, we demonstrate that p130Cas is a necessary downstream component of LPA Gαi2-induced migration and collagen-1 invasion of ovarian cancer cells. Considering the fact that LPA stimulates invasive migration through the coordination of multiple downstream signaling pathways, our current study identifies a separate unique signaling node involving p130Cas and Gαi2 in mediating LPA-mediated invasive migration of ovarian cancer cells.

p130Cas: a key signalling node in health and disease

p130Cas/breast cancer anti-oestrogen resistance 1 (BCAR1) is a member of the Cas (Crk-associated substrate) family of adaptor proteins, which have emerged as key signalling nodes capable of interactions with multiple proteins, with important regulatory roles in normal and pathological cell function. The Cas family of proteins is characterised by the presence of multiple conserved motifs for protein-protein interactions, and by extensive tyrosine and serine phosphorylations. Recent studies show that p130Cas contributes to migration, cell cycle control and apoptosis. p130Cas is essential during early embryogenesis, with a critical role in cardiovascular development. Furthermore, p130Cas has been reported to be involved in the development and progression of several human cancers. p130Cas is able to perform roles in multiple processes due to its capacity to regulate a diverse array of signalling pathways, transducing signals from growth factor receptor tyrosine kinases, non-receptor tyrosine kinases, and integrins. In this review we summarise the current understanding of the structure, function, and regulation of p130Cas, and discuss the importance of p130Cas in both physiological and pathophysiological settings, with a focus on the cardiovascular system and cancer.

NSP-CAS Protein Complexes: Emerging Signaling Modules in Cancer

The CAS (CRK-associated substrate) family of adaptor proteins comprises 4 members, which share a conserved modular domain structure that enables multiple protein-protein interactions, leading to the assembly of intracellular signaling platforms. Besides their physiological role in signal transduction downstream of a variety of cell surface receptors, CAS proteins are also critical for oncogenic transformation and cancer cell malignancy through associations with a variety of regulatory proteins and downstream effectors. Among the regulatory partners, the 3 recently identified adaptor proteins constituting the NSP (novel SH2-containing protein) family avidly bind to the conserved carboxy-terminal focal adhesion-targeting (FAT) domain of CAS proteins. NSP proteins use an anomalous nucleotide exchange factor domain that lacks catalytic activity to form NSP-CAS signaling modules. Additionally, the NSP SH2 domain can link NSP-CAS signaling assemblies to tyrosine-phosphorylated cell surface receptors. NSP proteins can potentiate CAS function by affecting key CAS attributes such as expression levels, phosphorylation state, and subcellular localization, leading to effects on cell adhesion, migration, and invasion as well as cell growth. The consequences of these activities are well exemplified by the role that members of both families play in promoting breast cancer cell invasiveness and resistance to antiestrogens. In this review, we discuss the intriguing interplay between the NSP and CAS families, with a particular focus on cancer signaling networks.

Regulation of p130(Cas)/BCAR1 expression in tamoxifen-sensitive and tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer cells by EGR1 and NAB2

Elevated levels of p130(Cas)/BCAR1 (Crk-associated substrate/breast cancer antiestrogen resistance 1) are found in aggressive breast tumors and are associated with tamoxifen resistance of mammary cancers. p130(Cas) promotes the integration of protein complexes involved in multiple signaling pathways frequently deregulated in breast cancer. To elucidate mechanisms leading to p130(Cas) up-regulation in mammary carcinomas and during acquired tamoxifen resistance, the regulation of p130(Cas)/BCAR1 was studied. Because multiple putative binding motifs for the inducible transcription factor EGR1 were identified in the 5' region of BCAR1, the p130(Cas)/BCAR1 regulation by EGR1 and its coregulator NAB2 was investigated. Overexpression or short interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated down-regulation of EGR1 or NAB2, and chromatin immunoprecipitations indicated that EGR1 and NAB2 act in concert to positively regulate p130(Cas)/BCAR1 expression in breast cancer cells. p130(Cas) depletion using siRNA showed that, in tamoxifen-sensitive MCF-7 cells, p130(Cas) regulates EGR1 and NAB2 expression, whereas in the derivative tamoxifen-resistant TAM-R cells, only NAB2 levels were influenced. BCAR1 messenger RNA and p130(Cas) protein were upregulated by phorbol esters following the kinetics of late response genes in MCF-7 but not in TAM-R cells. Thus, in MCF-7 cells, we identified a positive feedback loop where p130(Cas) positively regulates EGR1 and NAB2, which in turn induce p130(Cas) expression. Importantly, compared with MCF-7, enhanced NAB2 expression and increased EGR1 binding to the BCAR1 5' region observed in TAM-R may lead to the constitutively increased p130(Cas)/BCAR1 levels in TAM-R cells. The uncovered differences in this EGR1/NAB2/p130(Cas) network in MCF-7 versus TAM-R cells may also contribute to p130(Cas) up-regulation during acquired tamoxifen resistance.