Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.10.2 (focal adhesion kinase)
 44,029 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

E-cadherin loss is frequently associated with ovarian cancer metastasis. Given that adhesion to the abdominal peritoneum is the first step in ovarian cancer dissemination, we reasoned that down-regulation of E-cadherin would affect expression of cell matrix adhesion receptors. We show here that inhibition of E-cadherin in ovarian cancer cells causes up-regulation of alpha(5)-integrin protein expression and transcription. When E-cadherin was blocked, RMUG-S ovarian cancer cells were able to attach and invade more efficiently. This greater efficiency could, in turn, be inhibited both in vitro and in vivo with an alpha(5)beta(1)-integrin-blocking antibody. When E-cadherin is silenced, alpha(5)-integrin is up-regulated through activation of an epidermal growth factor receptor/FAK/Erk1-mitogen-activated protein kinase-dependent signaling pathway and not through the canonical E-cadherin/beta-catenin signaling pathway. In SKOV-3ip1 ovarian cancer xenografts, which express high levels of alpha(5)-integrin, i.p. treatment with an alpha(5)beta(1)-integrin antibody significantly reduced tumor burden, ascites, and number of metastasis and increased survival by an average of 12 days when compared with IgG treatment (P < 0.0005). alpha(5)-Integrin expression was detected by immunohistochemistry in 107 advanced stage ovarian cancers using a tissue microarray annotated with disease-specific patient follow-up. Ten of 107 tissues (9%) had alpha(5)-integrin overexpression, and 39% had some level of alpha(5)-integrin expression. The median survival for patients with high alpha(5)-integrin levels was 26 months versus 35 months for those with low integrin expression (P < 0.05). Taken together, we have identified alpha(5)-integrin up-regulation as a molecular mechanism by which E-cadherin loss promotes tumor progression, providing an explanation for how E-cadherin loss increases metastasis. Targeting this integrin could be a promising therapy for a subset of ovarian cancer patients.
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PMID:Loss of E-cadherin promotes ovarian cancer metastasis via alpha 5-integrin, which is a therapeutic target. 1838 40

The molecular pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy (DN), the leading cause of end-stage renal disease worldwide, is complex and not fully understood. Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta1) plays a critical role in many fibrotic disorders, including DN. In this study, we report protein kinase B (PKB/Akt) activation as a downstream event contributing to the pathophysiology of DN. We investigated the potential of PKB/Akt to mediate the profibrotic bioactions of TGF-beta1 in kidney. Treatment of normal rat kidney epithelial cells (NRK52E) with TGF-beta1 resulted in activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and PKB/Akt as evidenced by increased Ser473 phosphorylation and GSK-3beta phosphorylation. TGF-beta1 also stimulated increased Smad3 phosphorylation in these cells, a response that was insensitive to inhibition of PI3K or PKB/Akt. NRK52E cells displayed a loss of zona occludins 1 and E-cadherin and a gain in vimentin and alpha-smooth muscle actin expression, consistent with the fibrotic actions of TGF-beta1. These effects were blocked with inhibitors of PI3K and PKB/Akt. Furthermore, overexpression of PTEN, the lipid phosphatase regulator of PKB/Akt activation, inhibited TGF-beta1-induced PKB/Akt activation. Interestingly, in the Goto-Kakizaki rat model of type 2 diabetes, we also detected increased phosphorylation of PKB/Akt and its downstream target, GSK-3beta, in the tubules, relative to that in control Wistar rats. Elevated Smad3 phosphorylation was also detected in kidney extracts from Goto-Kakizaki rats with chronic diabetes. Together, these data suggest that TGF-beta1-mediated PKB/Akt activation may be important in renal fibrosis during diabetic nephropathy.
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PMID:Protein kinase B/Akt activity is involved in renal TGF-beta1-driven epithelial-mesenchymal transition in vitro and in vivo. 1849 98

The interaction between tumor cells and the microenvironment has substantial effects on tumor cell behavior by influencing cell-cell as well as cell-matrix contacts. The underlying molecular mechanisms are only partially unraveled. In this review we focus on the influence of the stromal microenvironment, especially collagen type I and type III on cellular adhesion and epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). Extensive studies have emphasized that components of the microenvironment such as fibrillar collagen or growth factors like transforming growth factor beta are involved in induction of dedifferentiation of epithelial cells accompanied by disruption of the E-cadherin adhesion complex and reduced E-cadherin concentrations. On the molecular level many different proteins have been identified which are involved in the regulation of EMT, such as activation of integrins, intracellular kinases such as Src, focal adhesion kinase (FAK) or phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3-kinase) and alteration of catenin phosphorylation. The reduced cellular adhesion influences the tissue integrity and allows tumor cells to disseminate from the primary tumor representing an early step in cancer metastasis.
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PMID:Microenvironmental regulation of E-cadherin-mediated adherens junctions. 1850 91

Two of the most common signalling pathways in breast cancer are the ER (oestrogen receptor) ligand activation pathway and the E-cadherin snai1 slug EMT (epithelial-mesenchymal transition) pathway. Although these pathways have been thought to interact indirectly, the present study is the first to observe direct interactions between these pathways that involves the regulation of slug expression. Specifically we report that ligand-activated ERalpha suppressed slug expression directly by repression of transcription and that knockdown of ERalpha with RNA interference increased slug expression. More specifically, slug expression was down-regulated in ERalpha-negative MDA-MB-468 cells transfected with ERalpha after treatment with E2 (17beta-oestradiol). The down-regulation of slug in the ERalpha-positive MCF-7 cell line was mediated by direct repression of slug transcription by the formation of a co-repressor complex involving ligand-activated ERalpha protein, HDAC1 (histone deacetylase 1) and N-CoR (nuclear receptor co-repressor). This finding was confirmed by sequential ChIP (chromatin immunoprecipitation) studies. In the MCF-7 cell line, slug expression normally was low. In addition, knockdown of ERalpha with RNA interference in this cell line increased slug expression. This effect could be partially reversed by treatment of the cells with E2. The efficacy of the effect of ERalpha on slug repression was dependent on the overall level of ERalpha. These observations confirmed that slug was an E2-responsive gene.
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PMID:ERalpha suppresses slug expression directly by transcriptional repression. 1858 16

Cancer metastasis follows a sequential series of events, and many of the critical steps are distinctly similar to EMT-like transformations that occur during normal embryonic development. A current area of focus is the similarities between how cancer cells interact with the ectopic parenchyma after metastatic spread, and secondary developmental MET events that occur in epithelial tissues that have re-assembled within the embryo from mesenchymal cells. Accumulating evidence suggests a critical role for these secondary events, termed mesenchymal-epithelial transitions (MET) in development and mesenchymal-epithelial reverting transitions (MErT) in cancer. In this situation, metastatic seed cancer cells may inertly become part of the ectopic tissue and therefore surmount the metastatic inefficiencies to which most disseminated cancer cells succumb. Just as a critical EMT event is the downregulation or silencing of E-cadherin, we discuss the role of E-cadherin in cancer-associated MErT at distant metastatic sites and speculate on the implications for the fate of micrometastases that undergo a transition to being E-cadherin positive.
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PMID:E-cadherin as an indicator of mesenchymal to epithelial reverting transitions during the metastatic seeding of disseminated carcinomas. 1860 Mar 5

Loss of expression of the cell-cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin is a hallmark of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in development and in the progression from epithelial tumours to invasive and metastatic cancers. Here, we demonstrate that the loss of E-cadherin function upregulates expression of the neuronal cell adhesion molecule (NCAM). Subsequently, a subset of NCAM translocates from fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) complexes outside lipid rafts into lipid rafts where it stimulates the non-receptor tyrosine kinase p59(Fyn) leading to the phosphorylation and activation of focal adhesion kinase and the assembly of integrin-mediated focal adhesions. Ablation of NCAM expression during EMT inhibits focal adhesion assembly, cell spreading and EMT. Conversely, forced expression of NCAM induces epithelial cell delamination and migration, and high NCAM expression correlates with tumour invasion. These results establish a mechanistic link between the loss of E-cadherin expression, NCAM function, focal adhesion assembly and cell migration and invasion.
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PMID:NCAM-induced focal adhesion assembly: a functional switch upon loss of E-cadherin. 1877 82

The metastatic nature of breast cancer has been well recognized, yet the mechanisms through which breast cancer cells acquire their invasive properties have not been clearly elucidated. Our previous study indicates that BMP-6 restores E-cadherin-mediated EMT through repressing deltaEF1 in breast cancer. However, the mechanism by which BMP-6 regulates deltaEF1 expression remains unclear. In this study, we confirmed the significant role of BMP-6 in inhibiting MDA-MB-231 migration through decreasing deltaEF1 expression which subsequently relieves deltaEF1-mediated invasion. The inhibitory effect of BMP-6 through deltaEF1 regulation was supported by an inverse correlation of BMP-6/miR-192 and deltaEF1 expressions observed in both MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells and clinical tumor specimens. Moreover, BMP-6 treatment or miR-192 transfection decreased the reporter activity of the deltaEF1 3'-UTR-luc, validating that deltaEF1 is a target of miR-192. Meanwhile, we also found that BMP-6 acted as a potent transcriptional repressor of the human deltaEF1 promoter. Mutation of the AP-1 binding site on this promoter abolished BMP-6-induced transrepression of deltaEF1. Depletion of BMP-6 expression by RNAi resulted in a significant increase in the promoter activity of deltaEF1. Our study has provided novel findings of a dual mechanism for BMP-6-regulated deltaEF1 expression in breast cancer cells, involving cross-talks between AP-1-mediated transcriptional repression and miRs-mediated translational inhibition.
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PMID:Dual mechanism of deltaEF1 expression regulated by bone morphogenetic protein-6 in breast cancer. 1880 2

Maintenance of E-cadherin mediated cell-cell contacts is often required for the survival of epithelial cells and tissues. Here we report that oncogenic activation of H-Ras in murine keratinocytes can prevent cell death induced by immunological disruption of E-cadherin adhesion. A similar situation was observed in cells showing constitutive activation of the p110 alpha catalytic subunit of class IA PI3K. This protective effect is associated with beta-catenin-dependent transcription and with activation of survival factor Akt/PKB. In addition, we induced cell death by employing photodynamic therapy, using Zn-phthalocyanine as a photosensitizer that targets E-cadherin adhesion complexes. We have found that cell death based on this photodynamic action is also bypassed in cells showing constitutive activation of H-Ras and p110 alpha. Taken together, these results indicate that H-Ras/PI3K/Akt signaling plays a key role in cell survival mediated by E-cadherin cell-cell contacts.
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PMID:Oncogenic H-Ras and PI3K signaling can inhibit E-cadherin-dependent apoptosis and promote cell survival after photodynamic therapy in mouse keratinocytes. 1906 34

Although interleukin-15 (IL-15) is a powerful immunomodulatory factor that has been proposed for cancer immunotherapy, its intratumoral expression may be correlated with tumor progression and/or poor clinical outcome. Therefore, neoplasias potentially sensitive to immunotherapy should be checked for their IL-15 expression and function before choosing immunotherapy protocols. Primary human renal cancer cells (RCC) express a novel form of membrane-bound IL-15 (mb-IL-15), which displays three major original properties: (a) It is expressed as a functional membrane homodimer of 27 kDa, (b) it is shed in the extracellular environment by the metalloproteases ADAM17 and ADAM10, and (c) its stimulation by soluble IL-15 receptor alpha (s-IL-15Ralpha) chain triggers a complex reverse signal (mitogen-activated protein kinases, FAK, pMLC) necessary and sufficient to ~induce epithelial-mesenchymal transdifferentiation (EMT), a crucial process in tumor progression whose induction is unprecedented for IL-15. In these cells, complete EMT is characterized by a dynamic reorganization of the cytoskeleton with the subsequent generation of a mesenchymal/contractile phenotype (alpha-SMA and vimentin networks) and the loss of the epithelial markers E-cadherin and ZO-1. The retrosignaling functions are, however, hindered through an unprecedented cytokine/receptor interaction of mb-IL-15 with membrane-associated IL-15Ralpha subunit that tunes its signaling potential competing with low concentrations of the s-IL-15Ralpha chain. Thus, human RCC express an IL-15/IL-15R system, which displays unique biochemical and functional properties that seem to be directly involved in renal tumoral progression.
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PMID:Human renal cancer cells express a novel membrane-bound interleukin-15 that induces, in response to the soluble interleukin-15 receptor alpha chain, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. 1919 Mar 30

The activity of E-cadherin-adhesion complexes is under stringent control of signaling pathways. Conversely, these adhesion complexes are preferential sites for signal transduction. One class of signaling molecules reported to regulate adherens junction and to be activated by adherens junction assembly are phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases. While the exact molecular mechanisms involved are not clear, present data indicate that one of the earliest events likely involves c-Src which is rapidly activated by E-cadherin-mediated cellular aggregation and may facilitate the recruitment and activation of PI3K to E-cadherin-containing complexes. Beta-catenin, gamma-catenin and hDlg which are present at cell-cell adhesions can act as docking proteins for PI3K. Hence, cell-cell interaction leads to PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 production in nascent cadherin contacts triggering the recruitment of proteins containing pleckstrin homology domains including the kinase PKB/Akt and the exchange factors for Rac, Tiam and Vav. PKB/Akt may be involved in the regulation of survival and proliferation while Tiam and Vav may activate Rac, resulting in reorganization of actin cytoskeleton which ultimately serves to mediate adhesive cell-cell recognition as well as epithelial cell differentiation and polarity.
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PMID:Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase: a key regulator in adherens junction formation and function. 1927 82


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