Intrinsic FAK activity and Y925 phosphorylation facilitate an angiogenic switch in tumors.

Elevated focal adhesion kinase (FAK) expression occurs in advanced cancers, yet a signaling role for FAK in tumor progression remains undefined. Here, we suppressed FAK activity in 4T1 breast carcinoma cells resulting in reduced FAK Y925 phosphorylation, Grb2 adaptor protein binding to FAK, and signaling to mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase (MAPK). Loss of a FAK-Grb2-MAPK linkage did not affect 4T1 cell proliferation or survival in culture, yet FAK inhibition reduced vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression and resulted in small avascular tumors in mice. This FAK-Grb2-MAPK linkage was essential in promoting angiogenesis as reconstitution experiments using Src-transformed FAK-null fibroblasts revealed that point mutations affecting FAK catalytic activity (R454) or Y925 phosphorylation (F925) disrupted the ability of FAK to promote MAPK- and VEGF-associated tumor growth. Notably, in both FAK-inhibited 4T1 and Src-transformed FAK-null cells, constitutively activated (CA) mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1 (MEK1) restored VEGF production and CA-MEK1 or added VEGF rescued tumor growth and angiogenesis. These studies provide the first biological support for Y925 FAK phosphorylation and define a novel role for FAK activity in promoting a MAPK-associated angiogenic switch during tumor progression.

Inhibition of focal adhesion kinase expression or activity disrupts epidermal growth factor-stimulated signaling promoting the migration of invasive human carcinoma cells.

Elevated focal adhesion kinase (FAK) expression in human tumor cells has been correlated with an increased cell invasion potential. In cell culture, studies with FAK-null fibroblasts have shown that FAK function is required for cell migration. To determine the role of elevated FAK expression in facilitating epidermal growth factor (EGF)-stimulated human adenocarcinoma (A549) cell motility, antisense oligonucleotides were used to reduce FAK protein expression >75%. Treatment of A549 cells with FAK antisense (ISIS 15421) but not a mismatched control (ISIS 17636) oligonucleotide resulted in reduced EGF-stimulated p130(Cas)-Src complex formation, c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK) activation, directed cell motility, and serum-stimulated cell invasion through Matrigel. Because residual FAK protein in ISIS 15421-treated A549 cells was highly phosphorylated at the Tyr-397/Src homology (SH)2 binding site, expression of the FAK COOH-terminal domain (FRNK) was also used as an inhibitor of FAK function. Adenoviral-mediated infection and expression of FRNK promoted FAK dephosphorylation at Tyr-397, resulted in reduced EGF-stimulated JNK as well as extracellular-regulated kinase 2 (ERK2) kinase activation, inhibited matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) secretion, and potently blocked both random and EGF-stimulated A549 cell motility. Equivalent expression of a FRNK (S-1034) point-mutant that did not promote FAK dephosphorylation also did not affect EGF-stimulated signaling or cell motility. Dose-dependent reduction in EGF-stimulated A549 motility was observed with the PD98059 MEK1 inhibitor and the batimastat (BB-94) inhibitor of MMP activity, but not with the SB203580 inhibitor of p38 kinase. Finally, comparisons between normal, FAK-null, and FAK-reconstituted fibroblasts revealed that FAK enhanced EGF-stimulated JNK and ERK2 kinase activation that was required for cell motility. These data indicate that FAK functions as an important signaling platform to coordinate EGF-stimulated cell migration in human tumor cells and support a role for inhibitors of FAK expression or activity in the control of neoplastic cell invasion.

Targeting Pyk2 to beta 1-integrin-containing focal contacts rescues fibronectin-stimulated signaling and haptotactic motility defects of focal adhesion kinase-null cells.

Focal adhesion kinase-null (FAK(-/-) fibroblasts exhibit morphological and motility defects that are reversed by focal adhesion kinase (FAK) reexpression. The FAK-related kinase, proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 (Pyk2), is expressed in FAK(-/-) cells, yet it exhibits a perinuclear distribution and does not functionally substitute for FAK. Chimeric Pyk2/FAK proteins were created and expressed in FAK(-/-) cells to determine the impact of Pyk2 localization to focal contacts. Whereas an FAK/Pyk2 COOH-terminal (CT) domain chimera was perinuclear distributed, stable expression of a Pyk2 chimera with the FAK-CT domain (Pyk2/FAK-CT) localized to focal contact sites and enhanced fibronectin (FN)-stimulated haptotactic cell migration equal to FAK-reconstituted cells. Disruption of paxillin binding to the FAK-CT domain (S-1034) inhibited Pyk2/FAK-CT localization to focal contacts and its capacity to promote cell motility. Paxillin binding to the FAK-CT was necessary but not sufficient to mediate the indirect association of FAK or Pyk2/FAK-CT with a beta 1-integrin-containing complex. Both FAK and Pyk2/FAK-CT but not Pyk2/FAK-CT S-1034 reconstituted FAK(-/-) cells, exhibit elevated FN-stimulated extracellular signal-regulated kinase 2 (ERK2) and c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK) kinase activation. FN-stimulated FAK or Pyk2/FAK-CT activation enhanced both the extent and duration of FN-stimulated ERK2 activity which was necessary for cell motility. Transient overexpression of the FAK-CT but not FAK-CT S-1034 domain inhibited both FN-stimulated ERK2 and JNK activation as well as FN-stimulated motility of Pyk2/FAK-CT reconstituted cells. These gain-of-function studies show that the NH(2)-terminal and kinase domains of Pyk2 can functionally substitute for FAK in promoting FN-stimulated signaling and motility events when localized to beta-integrin-containing focal contact sites via interactions mediated by the FAK-CT domain.

Focal adhesion kinase facilitates platelet-derived growth factor-BB-stimulated ERK2 activation required for chemotaxis migration of vascular smooth muscle cells.

The focal adhesion (FAK) non-receptor protein-tyrosine kinase (PTK) links both extracellular matrix/integrin and growth factor stimulation to intracellular signals promoting cell migration. Here we show that both transient and stable overexpression of the FAK C-terminal domain termed FRNK (FAK-related non-kinase) inhibits serum and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB-induced vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) migration in wound healing and in vitro Boyden Chamber chemotaxis assays, respectively. Expression of FRNK, but not a point mutant of FRNK (FRNK L1034S), disrupted the formation of a complex containing both FAK and the activated PDGF-beta receptor and resulted in reduced tyrosine phosphorylation of endogenous FAK at the Tyr-397 binding site for Src family PTKs. As demonstrated using FAK-deficient and FAK-reconstituted fibroblasts, FAK positively contributed to PDGF-BB-stimulated ERK2/MAP kinase activity, and in SMCs, ERK2/MAP kinase activity was required for PDGF-BB-stimulated chemotaxis. Stable expression of FRNK but not FRNK L1034S expression in SMCs lowered the extent and duration of stimulated ERK2/MAP kinase activation at low but not at high PDGF-BB concentrations. Importantly, stable expression of FRNK in SMCs did not affect SMC morphology or proliferation in culture. Because the increased migration of vascular SMCs in response to extracellular matrix proteins and growth factors contributes to neointima formation, our results show that FAK inhibition by FRNK expression may provide a novel approach to regulate abnormal vascular SMC migration in vivo.