Fibronectin-guided migration of carcinoma collectives.

Functional interplay between tumour cells and their neoplastic extracellular matrix plays a decisive role in malignant progression of carcinomas. Here we provide a comprehensive data set of the human HNSCC-associated fibroblast matrisome. Although much attention has been paid to the deposit of collagen, we identify oncofetal fibronectin (FN) as a major and obligate component of the matrix assembled by stromal fibroblasts from head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). FN overexpression in tumours from 435 patients corresponds to an independent unfavourable prognostic indicator. We show that migration of carcinoma collectives on fibrillar FN-rich matrices is achieved through αvß6 and α9ß1 engagement, rather than α5ß1. Moreover, αvß6-driven migration occurs independently of latent TGF-ß activation and Smad-dependent signalling in tumour epithelial cells. These results provide insights into the adhesion-dependent events at the tumour-stroma interface that govern the collective mode of migration adopted by carcinoma cells to invade surrounding stroma in HNSCC.

Elevated Src family kinase activity stabilizes E-cadherin-based junctions and collective movement of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas.

EGF receptor (EGFR) overexpression is thought to drive head and neck carcinogenesis however clinical responses to EGFR-targeting agents have been modest and alternate targets are actively sought to improve results. Src family kinases (SFKs), reported to act downstream of EGFR are among the alternative targets for which increased expression or activity in epithelial tumors is commonly associated to the dissolution of E-cadherin-based junctions and acquisition of a mesenchymal-like phenotype. Robust expression of total and activated Src was observed in advanced stage head and neck tumors (N=60) and in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma lines. In cultured cancer cells Src co-localized with E-cadherin in cell-cell junctions and its phosphorylation on Y419 was both constitutive and independent of EGFR activation. Selective inhibition of SFKs with SU6656 delocalized E-cadherin and disrupted cellular junctions without affecting E-cadherin expression and this effect was phenocopied by knockdown of Src or Yes. These findings reveal an EGFR-independent role for SFKs in the maintenance of intercellular junctions, which likely contributes to the cohesive invasion E-cadherin-positive cells in advanced tumors. Further, they highlight the need for a deeper comprehension of molecular pathways that drive collective cell invasion, in absence of mesenchymal transition, in order to combat tumor spread.

Epidermal growth factor receptor protein detection in head and neck cancer patients: a many-faceted picture.

PURPOSE: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) overexpression is associated with poor prognosis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Despite intensive biomarker studies, a consensual method for assessing EGFR protein expression is still lacking. Here we set out to compare three EGFR detection methods in tumor specimens from HNSCC patients. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Tumors were prospectively excised from a series of 79 high-risk HNSCC patients enrolled in a GORTEC-sponsored clinical trial. EGFR expression was determined using a ligand-binding assay on membranes, Western blotting (WB) on membranes and total homogenates, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) on tissue microarrays. In addition, phosphorylated EGFR (pEGFR) was measured by WB on membranes. RESULTS: Distributions and ranges of tumor EGFR expression were method dependent. Moderate positive correlations (Spearman coefficient r ≈ 0.50) were observed between EGFR expression measured by the binding assay and WB or IHC. pEGFR levels positively and significantly correlated with total EGFR expression measured by WB or ligand binding, but not by IHC. The highest correlation (r = 0.85) was observed between EGFR and pEGFR levels, both measured by WB on membranes. Interestingly, the fraction of phosphorylated receptor (pEGFR/EGFR both measured by WB on membranes) significantly declined with increasing tumor EGFR expression, by all assessment methods used. CONCLUSION: This study shows significant correlations between EGFR detection methods. The observed relationships between EGFR and pEGFR indicate that high-throughput pEGFR/EGFR analyses merit further investigations and consideration for routine use in patient samples.

The transmembrane protein CBP plays a role in transiently anchoring small clusters of Thy-1, a GPI-anchored protein, to the cytoskeleton.

It remains unclear how GPI-anchored proteins (GPIAPs), which lack cytoplasmic domains, transduce signals triggered by specific ligation. Such signal transduction has been speculated to require the ligated GPIAP to associate with membrane-spanning proteins that communicate with obligate cytoplasmic proteins. Transient anchorage of crosslinked proteins on the cell surface was previously characterized by single-particle tracking, and temporary association with the actin cytoskeleton was hypothesized to cause regulated anchorage. GPIAPs, such as Thy-1, require clustering, cholesterol and Src-family kinase (SFK) activity to become transiently anchored. By contrast, a transmembrane protein, the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), which has a PDZ-binding motif in its cytoplasmic C-terminus that binds the ERM adaptor EBP50, exhibits anchorage that strictly requires EBP50 but has little dependence on cholesterol or SFK. We hypothesized that a transmembrane protein would be required to mediate the linkage between Thy-1 and the cytoskeleton. Here, we present evidence, obtained by shRNA knockdown, that the transmembrane protein Csk-binding protein (CBP) plays an obligatory role in the transient anchorage of Thy1. Furthermore, either a dominant-negative form of CBP that did not bind EBP50 or a dominant-negative EBP50 drastically reduced transient anchorage of Thy-1, indicating the involvement of this adaptor. Finally, we speculate on the role of phosphorylation in the regulation of transient anchorage.

The Csk-binding protein PAG regulates PDGF-induced Src mitogenic signaling via GM1.

Spatial regulation is an important feature of signal specificity elicited by cytoplasmic tyrosine kinases of the Src family (SRC family protein tyrosine kinases [SFK]). Cholesterol-enriched membrane domains, such as caveolae, regulate association of SFK with the platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR), which is needed for kinase activation and mitogenic signaling. PAG, a ubiquitously expressed member of the transmembrane adaptor protein family, is known to negatively regulate SFK signaling though binding to Csk. We report that PAG modulates PDGFR levels in caveolae and SFK mitogenic signaling through a Csk-independent mechanism. Regulation of SFK mitogenic activity by PAG requires the first N-terminal 97 aa (PAG-N), which include the extracellular and transmembrane domains, palmitoylation sites, and a short cytoplasmic sequence. We also show that PAG-N increases ganglioside GM1 levels at the cell surface and, thus, displaces PDGFR from caveolae, a process that requires the ganglioside-specific sialidase Neu-3. In conclusion, PAG regulates PDGFR membrane partitioning and SFK mitogenic signaling by modulating GM1 levels within caveolae independently from Csk.

Two distinct pools of Src family tyrosine kinases regulate PDGF-induced DNA synthesis and actin dorsal ruffles.

The mechanism by which the Src family of protein-tyrosine kinases (SFKs) regulate mitogenesis and morphological changes induced by platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is not well known. The cholesterol-enriched membrane microdomains, caveolae, regulate PDGF receptor signalling in fibroblasts and we examined their role in SFK functions. Here we show that caveolae disruption by membrane cholesterol depletion or expression of the dominant-negative caveolin-3 DGV mutant impaired Src mitogenic signalling including kinase activation, Myc gene induction and DNA synthesis. The impact of caveolae on SFK function was underscored by the capacity of Myc to overcome mitogenic inhibition as a result of caveolae disruption. Using biochemical fractionation we show that caveolae-enriched subcellular membranes regulate the formation of PDGF-receptor-SFK complexes. An additional pool of PDGF-activated SFKs that was insensitive to membrane cholesterol depletion was characterised in non-caveolae fractions. SFK activation outside caveolae was linked to the capacity of PDGF to induce F-actin rearrangements leading to dorsal ruffle formation. Inhibition of phospholipase C gamma (PLCgamma), sphingosine kinase and heterotrimeric Gi proteins implicates a PLC gamma-sphingosine-1-phosphate-Gi pathway for PDGF-induced SFK activation outside caveolae and actin assembly. In addition, the cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase Abl was identified as an important effector of this signalling cascade. We conclude that PDGF may stimulate two spatially distinct pools of SFKs leading to two different biological outcomes: DNA synthesis and dorsal ruffle formation.