PyK2 and FAK connections to p190Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor regulate RhoA activity, focal adhesion formation, and cell motility.

Integrin binding to matrix proteins such as fibronectin (FN) leads to formation of focal adhesion (FA) cellular contact sites that regulate migration. RhoA GTPases facilitate FA formation, yet FA-associated RhoA-specific guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) remain unknown. Here, we show that proline-rich kinase-2 (Pyk2) levels increase upon loss of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). Additionally, we demonstrate that Pyk2 facilitates deregulated RhoA activation, elevated FA formation, and enhanced cell proliferation by promoting p190RhoGEF expression. In normal MEFs, p190RhoGEF knockdown inhibits FN-associated RhoA activation, FA formation, and cell migration. Knockdown of p190RhoGEF-related GEFH1 does not affect FA formation in FAK(-/-) or normal MEFs. p190RhoGEF overexpression enhances RhoA activation and FA formation in MEFs dependent on FAK binding and associated with p190RhoGEF FA recruitment and tyrosine phosphorylation. These studies elucidate a compensatory function for Pyk2 upon FAK loss and identify the FAK-p190RhoGEF complex as an important integrin-proximal regulator of FA formation during FN-stimulated cell motility.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha stimulates focal adhesion kinase activity required for mitogen-activated kinase-associated interleukin 6 expression.

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a cytoplasmic protein-tyrosine kinase that promotes cell migration, survival, and gene expression. Here we show that FAK signaling is important for tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha)-induced interleukin 6 (IL-6) mRNA and protein expression in breast (4T1), lung (A549), prostate (PC-3), and neural (NB-8) tumor cells by FAK short hairpin RNA knockdown and by comparisons of FAK-null (FAK(-/-)) and FAK(+/+) mouse embryo fibroblasts. FAK promoted TNFalpha-stimulated MAPK activation needed for maximal IL-6 production. FAK was not required for TNFalpha-mediated nuclear factor-kappaB or c-Jun N-terminal kinase activation. TNFalpha-stimulated FAK catalytic activation and IL-6 production were inhibited by FAK N-terminal but not FAK C-terminal domain overexpression. Analysis of FAK(-/-) fibroblasts stably reconstituted with wild type or various FAK point mutants showed that FAK catalytic activity, Tyr-397 phosphorylation, and the Pro-712/713 proline-rich region of FAK were required for TNFalpha-stimulated MAPK activation and IL-6 production. Constitutively activated MAPK kinase-1 (MEK1) expression in FAK(-/-) and A549 FAK short hairpin RNA-expressing cells rescued TNFalpha-stimulated IL-6 production. Inhibition of Src protein-tyrosine kinase activity or mutation of Src phosphorylation sites on FAK (Tyr-861 or Tyr-925) did not affect TNFalpha-stimulated IL-6 expression. Moreover, analyses of Src(-/-), Yes(-/-), and Fyn(-/-) fibroblasts showed that Src expression was inhibitory to TNFalpha-stimulated IL-6 production. These studies provide evidence for a novel Src-independent FAK to MAPK signaling pathway regulating IL-6 expression with potential importance to inflammation and tumor progression.