p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase interacts with vinculin at focal adhesions during fatty acid-stimulated cell adhesion.

Arachidonic acid stimulates cell adhesion by activating α2ß1 integrins in a process that depends on protein kinases, including p38 mitogen activated protein kinase. Here, we describe the interaction of cytoskeletal components with key signaling molecules that contribute to the spreading of, and morphological changes in, arachidonic acid-treated MDA-MB-435 human breast carcinoma cells. Arachidonic acid-treated cells showed increased attachment and spreading on collagen type IV, as measured by electric cell-substrate impedance sensing. Fatty acid-treated cells displayed short cortical actin filaments associated with an increased number of ß1 integrin-containing pseudopodia, whereas untreated cells displayed elongated stress fibers and fewer clusters of ß1 integrins. Confocal microscopy of arachidonic acid-treated cells showed that vinculin and phospho-p38 both appeared enriched in pseudopodia and at the tips of actin filaments, and fluorescence ratio imaging indicated the increase was specific for the phospho-(active) form of p38. Immunoprecipitates of phospho-p38 from extracts of arachidonic acid-treated cells contained vinculin, and GST-vinculin fusion proteins carrying the central region of vinculin bound phospho-p38, whereas fusion proteins expressing the terminal portions of vinculin did not. These data suggest that phospho-p38 associates with particular domains on critical focal adhesion proteins that are involved in tumor cell adhesion and spreading, and that this association can be regulated by factors in the tumor microenvironment.

A role for Orai in TRPC-mediated Ca2+ entry suggests that a TRPC:Orai complex may mediate store and receptor operated Ca2+ entry.

TRPC and Orai proteins have both been proposed to form Ca(2+)-selective, store-operated calcium entry (SOCE) channels that are activated by store-depletion with Ca(2+) chelators or calcium pump inhibitors. In contrast, only TRPC proteins have been proposed to form nonselective receptor-operated calcium entry (ROCE) cation channels that are activated by Gq/Gi-PLCbeta signaling, which is the physiological stimulus for store depletion. We reported previously that a dominant negative Orai1 mutant, R91W, inhibits Ca(2+) entry through both SOCE and ROCE channels, implicating Orai participation in both channel complexes. However, the argument for Orai participating in ROCE independently of store depletion is tenuous because store depletion is an integral component of the ROCE response, which includes formation of IP3, a store-depleting agent. Here we show that the R91W mutant also blocks diacylglycerol (DAG)-activated Ca(2+) entry into cells that stably, or transiently, express DAG-responsive TRPC proteins. This strongly suggests that Orai and TRPC proteins form complexes that participate in Ca(2+) entry with or without activation of store depletion. To integrate these results with recent data linking SOCE with recruitment of Orai and TRPCs to lipid rafts by STIM, we develop the hypothesis that Orai:TRPC complexes recruited to lipid rafts mediate SOCE, whereas the same complexes mediate ROCE when they are outside of lipid rafts. It remains to be determined whether the molecules forming the permeation pathway are the same when Orai:TRPC complexes mediate ROCE or SOCE.

15-lipoxygenase-1 activates tumor suppressor p53 independent of enzymatic activity.

15-LOX-1 and its metabolites are involved in colorectal cancer. Recently, we reported that 15-LOX-1 overexpression in HCT-116 human colorectal cancer cells inhibited cell growth by induction of p53 phosphorylation (4). To determine whether the 15-LOX-1 protein or its metabolites are responsible for phosphorylation of p53 in HCT-116 cells, we used HCT-116 cells that expressed a mutant 15-LOX-1. The mutant 15-LOX-1 enzyme, with a substitution of Leu at residue His361, was devoid of enzymatic activity. HCT-116 cells transiently transfected with either native or mutant 15-LOX-1 showed an increase in p53 phosphorylation and an increase in the expression of downstream genes. Thus, 15-LOX-1 induces p53 phosphorylation independent of enzymatic activity. Treatment of A549 human lung carcinoma cells with IL-4 increased the expression of 15-LOX-1 and also increased the expression of downstream targets of p53. This confirmed that the activation of p53 was also observed in wild-type cells expressing physiological 15-LOX-1. Immunoprecipitation experiments revealed that 15-LOX-1 interacts with, and binds to, DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK). The binding of 15-LOX-1 to DNA-PK caused an approximate 3.0-fold enhancement in kinase activity, resulting in increased p53 phosphorylation at Ser15. Knockdown of DNA-PK by small interfering RNA (siRNA) significantly reduced p53 phosphorylation. Furthermore, confocal microscopy demonstrated a colocalization of 15-LOX and DNA-PK in the cells. We propose that the 15-LOX-1 protein binds to DNA-PK, increasing its kinase activity and results in downstream activation of the tumor suppressor p53, thus revealing a new mechanism by which lipoxygenases (LOX) may influence the phenotype of tumor cells.

P-selectin activates integrin-mediated colon carcinoma cell adhesion to fibronectin.

During hematogenous cancer metastasis, tumor cells separate from a primary mass, enter the bloodstream, disperse throughout the body, migrate across vessel walls, and generate distant colonies. The later steps of metastasis superficially resemble leukocyte extravasation, a process initiated by selectin-mediated cell tethering to the blood vessel wall followed by integrin-mediated arrest and transendothelial migration. Some cancer cells express P-selectin ligands and attach to immobilized P-selectin, suggesting that these cells can arrest in blood vessels using sequential selectin- and integrin-mediated adhesion, as do leukocytes. We hypothesize that selectin binding may regulate subsequent integrin-mediated steps in metastasis. Using a model system of cultured Colo 320 human colon adenocarcinoma cells incubated with soluble P-selectin-IgG chimeric protein, we have found that P-selectin can stimulate activation of the alpha(5)beta(1) integrin resulting in a specific increase of adhesion and spreading of these cells on fibronectin substrates. P-selectin binding also induced activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K). PI3-K inhibitors blocked P-selectin-mediated integrin activation, cell attachment, and cell spreading. Inhibition of p38 MAPK activation blocked cell spreading, but not cell attachment. P-selectin binding also resulted in formation of a signaling complex containing PI3-K and p38 MAPK. These results suggest that P-selectin binding to tumor cells can activate alpha(5)beta(1) integrin via PI3-K and p38 MAPK signaling pathways leading to increased cell adhesion. We propose that P-selectin ligands are important tumor cell signaling molecules that modulate integrin-mediated cell adhesion in the metastatic process.