ABSTRACT: Matrix Stiffness-Driven Cytoskeletal Remodeling and Tumor Progression in Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer via Integrin-Focal Adhesion Kinase Signaling
Project description:Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is a highly lethal malignancy characterized by rapid progression and therapeutic resistance. This study uncovers the pivotal role of extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness in driving ATC aggressiveness through mechanotransduction mediated by the Integrin α6β4/Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) axis. By engineering collagen-coated polyacrylamide hydrogels with tunable rigidity, we demonstrated that high ECM stiffness (60 kPa) markedly enhanced ATC cell proliferation, clonogenicity, migration, and invasion. Mechanistically, stiff matrices induced cytoskeletal reorganization, activated RhoA/Rac1/Cdc42 signaling, and upregulated Integrin α6β4-FAK pathway components, as validated by transcriptomic, proteomic, and functional assays. Pharmacological inhibition of FAK reversed stiffness-dependent tumor-promoting effects in vitro. In vivo, mice implanted with high-stiffness ECM-mimicking hydrogels exhibited accelerated subcutaneous tumor growth and increased lung metastatic burden, which were significantly attenuated by FAK-targeted therapy. These findings establish ECM stiffness as a biomechanical determinant of ATC progression and metastasis, offering novel insights into microenvironment-driven malignancy and highlighting FAK as a promising therapeutic target to disrupt mechanosignaling in ATC.
Project description:Aim of this work is to verify if pericytes (Pc) residing in ischemic failing human hearts display altered mechano-transduction properties and to assess which alterations of the mechano-sensing machinery are associated with the observed impaired response to mechanical cues. Results: microvascular rarefaction and defects of YAP/TAZ activation characterize failing human hearts. Although both donor (D-) and explanted (E-) heart derived cardiac pericytes (CPc) support angiogenesis, D-CPc exert this effect significantly better than E-CPc. The latter are characterized by reduced focal adhesion density, decreased activation of the focal adhesion kinase (FAK)/ Crk-associated substrate(CAS) pathway, low expression of caveolin-1, and defective transduction of extracellular stiffness into cytoskeletal stiffening, together with an impaired response to both fibronectin and lysophosphatidic acid. Importantly, Mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase inhibition restores YAP/TAZ nuclear translocation.
Project description:Integrins, the principal extracellular matrix (ECM) receptors of the cell, promote cell adhesion, migration, and proliferation, which are key events for cancer growth and metastasis. To date, most integrin-targeted cancer therapeutics have disrupted integrin-ECM interactions, which are viewed as critical for integrin functions. However, such agents have failed to improve cancer patient outcomes. We show that integrin b1, a highly expressed subunit in lung epithelium, is required for lung adenocarcinoma development in a carcinogen-induced mouse model. Likewise, human lung adenocarcinoma cell lines with integrin b1 deletion failed to form colonies in soft agar and tumors in mice. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that these effects do not require integrin b1-mediated adhesion to ECM but are dependent on integrin b1 cytoplasmic tail-mediated activation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK). Together, these studies support a critical role for integrin b1 in lung tumorigenesis that is mediated through constitutive, ECM-binding independent signaling involving the cytoplasmic tail.
Project description:The composition and stiffness of the extracellular matrix (ECM) environment that surrounds Multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) stem cells dictates transcriptional programming, thereby affecting stem cell lineage decision-making. Cells sense force between themselves and their microenvironment controlling the capability of MSCs to differentiate into adipocytes, osteocytes and chondrocytes. Force sensing is transmitted by integrin receptors and their associated adhesion signalling complexes. To identify regulators of MSC force sensing we sought to catalogue MSC adhesion complex composition. Therefore we isolated integrin-associated adhesion complexes formed in MSCs plated on the ECM ligand fibronectin. We identifed proteins using mass spectrometry that define a MSC specific subset of adhesion complex proteins consisting of key linkages to the actin cytoskeleton together with integrin signalling and force sensing components.
Project description:Soluble VEGFR-1 (sVEGFR-1) acts both as a decoy receptor for VEGFs and as an extracellular matrix protein for α5β1 integrin. A sVEGFR-1-derived peptide that interacts with α5β1 integrin promotes angiogenesis. However, canonical signal downstream integrin activation is not induced, resulting into lack of focal adhesion maturation. We performed a gene expression profile of endothelial cells adhering on sVEGFR-1 compared to that of cells adhering on fibronectin, the principal α5β1 integrin ligand. Three protein kinase-C substrates, adducin, MARCKS, and radixin were differently modulated. Adducin and MARCKS were less phosphorylated whereas radixin was higher phosphorylated in sVEGFR-1 adhering cells, the latter leading to prolonged small GTPase Rac1 activation and induction of a pathway involving the heterotrimeric G protein α13. Altogether, our data indicated endothelial cell acquisition of an highly motile phenotype when adherent on sVEGFR-1. Finally, we indicated radixin as accountable for the angiogenic effect of α5β1 integrin interaction with sVEGFR-1 that in turn depends on an active VEGF-A/VEGFR-2 signaling. Endothelial cells were let adhere in Petri dishes coated with fibronectin or sVEGFR-1 before RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays. Endothelial cells plated on BSA-treated Petri dishes were used as non-adhesion control. Each hybridization was performed in triplicate.
Project description:Adhesion of basal keratinocytes to the underlying extracellular matrix (ECM) plays a key role in the control of skin homeostasis and response to injury. Integrin receptors indirectly link the ECM to the cell cytoskeleton through large protein complexes called focal adhesions (FA). FA also function as intracellular biochemical signaling platforms to enable cells to respond to changing extracellular cues. The α4β1 and α9β1 integrins are both expressed in basal keratinocytes, share some common ECM ligands, and have been shown to promote wound healing in vitro and in vivo. However, their roles in maintaining epidermal homeostasis and relative contributions to pathological processes in the skin remain unclear. We found that α4β1 and α9β1 occupied distinct regions in monolayers of a basal keratinocyte cell line (NEB-1). During collective cell migration (CCM), α4 and α9 integrins co-localized along the leading edge. Pharmacological inhibition of α4β1 and α9β1 integrins increased keratinocyte proliferation and induced a dramatic change in cytoskeletal remodeling and FA rearrangement, detrimentally affecting collective cell migration (CCM). Further analysis revealed that α4β1/α9β1 integrins suppress ERK1/2 activity to control migration through the regulation of downstream kinases including Mitogen and Stress Activated Kinase 1 (MSK1). We performed LC-MS/MS analysis of α4β1/α9β1 adhesion complexes to identify partners that could regulate ERK activity.
Project description:The protein tyrosine phosphatase PRL-1 (Gene Symbol: PTP4A1) has been identified as an important oncogene with roles in promoting cell proliferation, survival, migration, invasion, and metastasis. However, little is currently known about the signaling pathways through which it mediates its effects. Studies have shown a relationship between PRL-1 and the expression or activity levels of various molecules involved in integrin-mediated cell signaling. These integrin-responsive players can promote re-arrangements in the actin cytoskeleton that are central to cell motility, invasion, and metastasis. Therefore, to investigate the effects of PRL-1 overexpression in human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK293) cells, we used qRT-PCR to examine the expression levels of 184 genes which either were identified by microarray and proteomic analysis to be differentially expressed in response to PRL-1 or have known associations to integrin-mediated signaling, cytoskeletal remodeling, and/or cell motility. Total RNA was extracted from duplicate cultures of HEK293 cells stably overexpressing PRL-1 (HEK293-PRL-1) and HEK293 cells stably transfected with empty pcDNA4 vector (HEK293-Vector). Samples were analyzed using custom TaqMan Array 96-well Plates to examine the expression of 184 genes with known involvement in or association with signaling pathways related to integrin-mediated cell adhesion, cytoskeletal remodeling, and/or cell motility.
Project description:Purpose: The primary goal of this study was to identify gene-expression profiles of anaplastic thyroid cancer and to identify some novel in-frame gene fusions that could result in translated protein products affecting the development of anaplastic thyroid cancer. Methods: RNAseq Data was processed with TCGA UNC V2 RNAseq protocol and different expressed genes were identify by using DESeq2, limma-voom, and edgeR. Potential fusion genes were identified by using SOAPfuse, Chimerascan and TopHat-Fusion. Potential fusion genes were confirmed by cDNA PCR and Sanger sequencing. Results: A total of 21 fusion genes were detected, including six predicted in-frame fusions; none were recurrent. Global gene expression analysis showed 661 genes to be differentially expressed between anaplastic thyroid cancer and papillary thyroid cancer cell lines, with pathway enrichment analyses showing downregulation of TP53-signaling as well as cell adhesion molecules in anaplastic thyroid cancer . Conclusions: Our study represents the first detailed analysis of anaplastic thyroid cancer cell lines and found several novel in-frame gene fusions that could result in translated protein products affecting the development of anaplastic thyroid cancer. These data provide novel insights into the tumorigenesis of anaplastic thyroid cancer and may be used to identify new therapeutic targets.
Project description:Extracellular matrix proteomic profiling Mass spectrometry characterization illustrated a reprogrammed proteome in response to matrix stiffness, including a core subset of 84 ECM-specific proteins, including various ECM regulators and tissue-associated ECM-related proteins. Further, we observe remodeling of ECM proteome with softer substrates associated with metabolic/mitochondrial network (178 proteins), while with 40 kPa substrate (92 proteins enriched) resulting in networks associated with enrichment of collagen biosynthesis, integrin cell surface interactions, and extracellular matrix organization networks.