Interactions of EGFR and caveolin-1 in human glioblastoma cells: evidence that tyrosine phosphorylation regulates EGFR association with caveolae.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) amplification and type III mutation (EGFRvIII), associated with constitutive tyrosine kinase activation and high malignancy, are commonly observed in glioblastoma tumors. The association of EGFR and EGFRvIII with caveolins was investigated in human glioblastoma cell lines, U87MG and U87MG-EGFRvIII. Caveolin-1 expression, determined by RT-PCR, real-time quantitative PCR and Western blot, was upregulated in glioblastoma cell lines (two-fold) and tumors (20-300-fold) compared to primary human astrocytes and nonmalignant brain tissue, respectively. U87MG-EGFRvIII expressed higher levels of caveolin-1 than U87MG. In contrast, the expression of caveolin-2 and -3 were downregulated in glioblastoma cells compared to astrocytes. A colocalization of EGFR, but not of EGFRvIII, with lipid rafts and caveolin-1 was observed by immunocytochemistry. Association of EGFR and EGFRvIII with caveolae, assessed in vitro by binding to caveolin scaffolding domain peptides and in vivo by immunocolocalization studies in cells and caveolae-enriched cellular fraction, was phosphorylation-dependent: ligand-induced phosphorylation of EGFR resulted in dissociation of EGFR from caveolae. In contrast, inhibition of the EGFRvIII constitutive tyrosine phosphorylation by AG1478 increased association of EGFRvIII with caveolin-1. AG1478 also increased caveolin-1 expression and reduced glioblastoma cell growth in a semi-solid agar. The evidence suggests that the phosphorylation-regulated sequestration of EGFR in caveolae may be involved in arresting constitutive or ligand-induced signaling through EGFR responsible for glial cell transformation.

Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-4 (IGFBP-4) is a novel anti-angiogenic and anti-tumorigenic mediator secreted by dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dB-cAMP)-differentiated glioblastoma cells.

cAMP has been shown to reverse the transformed phenotype of various cancer cells. Human glioblastoma U87MG cells exposed to 500 microM dB-cAMP for 6 days showed reduced proliferation, attenuated invasiveness, and inability to induce angiogenic responses in human brain endothelial cells (HBECs) grown in Matrigeltrade mark. VEGF was the principal mediator of angiogenic actions of U87MG conditioned media (CM), since VEGF neutralizing antibody completely inhibited U87MG-induced angiogenic responses and no detectable levels of IGF, bFGF, and PlGF were found in U87MG CM. VEGF release was induced ( approximately 20%) in dB-cAMP-treated U87MG cells, suggesting a simultaneous induction of anti-angiogenic mediators. Down-stream effectors of dB-cAMP actions in U87MG were investigated by microarray gene expression analysis. Detected increases in differentiation genes, staniocalcin-1 and Wnt-5a, and angiogenesis-related genes, PAI-1, SPARC, IGFBP-4, IGFBP-7, PAPP-A, and PRSS-11 in dB-cAMP-treated U87MG cells were validated by real-time PCR, Western blot, and/or ELISA. A subsequent series of experiments identified IGFBP-4 as the principal anti-angiogenic mediator secreted by glioblastoma cells in response to dB-cAMP. Human recombinant IGFBP-4 inhibited the angiogenic response of HBEC induced by U87MG CM, whereas anti-human IGFBP-4 antibody restored the pro-angiogenic activity of dB-cAMP-treated U87MG CM. Since neither U87MG nor HBEC cells secreted detectable levels of IGF-I, and there are no known cellular IGFBP-4 receptors, the anti-angiogenic effect of IGFBP-4 was likely IGF-I-independent and indirect. IGFBP-4 also antagonized angiogenic effects of VEGF(165), PlGF, and bFGF, and reduced U87MG colony formation in soft-agar. IGFBP-4 is a novel dB-cAMP-induced anti-angiogenic and anti-tumorigenic mediator that may be a promising candidate for glioblastoma therapy.

Identification of differentially expressed proteins in human glioblastoma cell lines and tumors.

An in-frame deletion of 801 bp in exons 2-7 (type III mutation) of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is detected at high incidence in primary glioblastoma tumors. A proteomic approach was used to generate differential protein expression maps of fetal human astrocytes (FHA), human glioblastoma cell lines U87MG and U87MG expressing type III EGFR deletion (U87MGdeltaEGFR) that confers high malignancy to tumor cells. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by in-gel digestion of separated spots and protein identification by LC-MS-MS and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) identified 23 proteins expressed at higher levels or exclusively in FHA and 29 proteins expressed at higher levels or exclusively in U87MG cells. Three proteins, ubiquitin, cystatin B, and tissue transglutaminase (TTG), were upregulated in U87MGdeltaEGFR relative to U87MG. Four proteins highly expressed by U87MG cells, Hsp27, major vault protein, TTG, and cystatin B, were analyzed by Western blot, ELISA, or RT-PCR in cell extracts and in tissue samples of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM; grade IV), low-grade astrocytomas (grades I and II), and nonmalignant brain lesions. All four proteins were highly expressed in GBM tissues compared to nonmalignant brain. These proteins may be used as diagnostic or functional (e.g., multiple drug resistance, invasiveness) markers for glioblastoma tumors.