scholarly journals Loss of epithelial differentiation and gain of invasiveness correlates with tyrosine phosphorylation of the E-cadherin/beta-catenin complex in cells transformed with a temperature-sensitive v-SRC gene.

1993 ◽  
Vol 120 (3) ◽  
pp. 757-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Behrens ◽  
L Vakaet ◽  
R Friis ◽  
E Winterhager ◽  
F Van Roy ◽  
...  

Loss of histotypic organization of epithelial cells is a common feature in normal development as well as in the invasion of carcinomas. Here we show that the v-src oncogene is a potent effector of epithelial differentiation and invasiveness. MDCK epithelial cells transformed with a temperature-sensitive mutant of v-src exhibit a strictly epithelial phenotype at the nonpermissive temperature for pp60v-src activity (40.5 degrees C) but rapidly loose cell-to-cell contacts and acquire a fibroblast-like morphology after culture at the permissive temperature (35 degrees C). Furthermore, the invasiveness of the cells into collagen gels or into chick heart fragments was increased at the permissive temperature. The profound effects of v-src on intercellular adhesion were not linked to changes in the levels of expression of the epithelial cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin. Rather, we observed an increase in tyrosine phosphorylation of E-cadherin and, in particular, of the associated protein beta-catenin. These results suggest a mechanism by which v-src counteracts junctional assembly and thereby promotes invasiveness and dedifferentiation of epithelial cells through phosphorylation of the E-cadherin/catenin complex.

1995 ◽  
Vol 130 (2) ◽  
pp. 461-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
M S Kinch ◽  
G J Clark ◽  
C J Der ◽  
K Burridge

Transformed epithelial cells often are characterized by a fibroblastic or mesenchymal morphology. These cells exhibit altered cell-cell and cell-substrate interactions. Here we have identified changes in the adhesions and cytoskeletal interactions of transformed epithelial cells that contribute to their altered morphology. Using MCF-10A human breast epithelial cells as a model system, we have found that transformation by an activated form of ras is characterized by less developed adherens-type junctions between cells but increased focal adhesions. Contributing to the modified adherens junctions of the transformed cells are decreased interactions among beta-catenin, E-cadherin, and the actin cytoskeleton. The ras-transformed cells reveal elevated phosphotyrosine in many proteins, including beta-catenin and p120 Cas. Whereas in the normal cells beta-catenin is found in association with E-cadherin, p120 Cas is not. In the ras-transformed cells, the situation is reversed; tyrosine-phosphorylated p120 Cas, but not tyrosine-phosphorylated beta-catenin, now is detected in E-cadherin complexes. The tyrosine-phosphorylated beta-catenin also shows increased detergent solubility, suggesting a decreased association with the actin cytoskeleton. p120 Cas, whether tyrosine phosphorylated or not, partitions into the detergent soluble fraction, suggesting that it is not tightly bound to the actin cytoskeleton in either the normal or ras-transformed cells. Inhibitors of tyrosine kinases decrease the level of tyrosine phosphorylation and restore a normal epithelial morphology to the ras-transformed cells. In particular, decreased tyrosine phosphorylation of beta-catenin is accompanied by increased interaction with both E-cadherin and the detergent insoluble cytoskeletal fraction. These results suggest that elevated tyrosine phosphorylation of proteins such as beta-catenin and p120 Cas contribute to the altered adherens junctions of ras-transformed epithelia.


1997 ◽  
Vol 139 (7) ◽  
pp. 1861-1872 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Lochter ◽  
Sybille Galosy ◽  
John Muschler ◽  
Neal Freedman ◽  
Zena Werb ◽  
...  

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) regulate ductal morphogenesis, apoptosis, and neoplastic progression in mammary epithelial cells. To elucidate the direct effects of MMPs on mammary epithelium, we generated functionally normal cells expressing an inducible autoactivating stromelysin-1 (SL-1) transgene. Induction of SL-1 expression resulted in cleavage of E-cadherin, and triggered progressive phenotypic conversion characterized by disappearance of E-cadherin and catenins from cell–cell contacts, downregulation of cytokeratins, upregulation of vimentin, induction of keratinocyte growth factor expression and activation, and upregulation of endogenous MMPs. Cells expressing SL-1 were unable to undergo lactogenic differentiation and became invasive. Once initiated, this phenotypic conversion was essentially stable, and progressed even in the absence of continued SL-1 expression. These observations demonstrate that inappropriate expression of SL-1 initiates a cascade of events that may represent a coordinated program leading to loss of the differentiated epithelial phenotype and gain of some characteristics of tumor cells. Our data provide novel insights into how MMPs function in development and neoplastic conversion.


1998 ◽  
Vol 141 (1) ◽  
pp. 287-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susann M. Brady-Kalnay ◽  
Tracy Mourton ◽  
Joseph P. Nixon ◽  
Gregory E. Pietz ◽  
Michael Kinch ◽  
...  

There is a growing body of evidence to implicate reversible tyrosine phosphorylation as an important mechanism in the control of the adhesive function of cadherins. We previously demonstrated that the receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase PTPμ associates with the cadherin–catenin complex in various tissues and cells and, therefore, may be a component of such a regulatory mechanism (Brady-Kalnay, S.M., D.L. Rimm, and N.K. Tonks. 1995. J. Cell Biol. 130:977– 986). In this study, we present further characterization of this interaction using a variety of systems. We observed that PTPμ interacted with N-cadherin, E-cadherin, and cadherin-4 (also called R-cadherin) in extracts of rat lung. We observed a direct interaction between PTPμ and E-cadherin after coexpression in Sf9 cells. In WC5 cells, which express a temperature-sensitive mutant form of v-Src, the complex between PTPμ and E-cadherin was dynamic, and conditions that resulted in tyrosine phosphorylation of E-cadherin were associated with dissociation of PTPμ from the complex. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that the COOH-terminal 38 residues of the cytoplasmic segment of E-cadherin was required for association with PTPμ in WC5 cells. Zondag et al. (Zondag, G., W. Moolenaar, and M. Gebbink. 1996. J. Cell Biol. 134: 1513–1517) have asserted that the association we observed between PTPμ and the cadherin–catenin complex in immunoprecipitates of the phosphatase arises from nonspecific cross-reactivity between BK2, our antibody to PTPμ, and cadherins. In this study we have confirmed our initial observation and demonstrated the presence of cadherin in immunoprecipitates of PTPμ obtained with three antibodies that recognize distinct epitopes in the phosphatase. In addition, we have demonstrated directly that the anti-PTPμ antibody BK2 that we used initially did not cross-react with cadherin. Our data reinforce the observation of an interaction between PTPμ and E-cadherin in vitro and in vivo, further emphasizing the potential importance of reversible tyrosine phosphorylation in regulating cadherin function.


1994 ◽  
Vol 125 (6) ◽  
pp. 1341-1352 ◽  
Author(s):  
I S Näthke ◽  
L Hinck ◽  
J R Swedlow ◽  
J Papkoff ◽  
W J Nelson

The cadherin/catenin complex plays important roles in cell adhesion, signal transduction, as well as the initiation and maintenance of structural and functional organization of cells and tissues. In the preceding study, we showed that the assembly of the cadherin/catenin complex is temporally regulated, and that novel combinations of catenin and cadherin complexes are formed in both Triton X-100-soluble and -insoluble fractions; we proposed a model in which pools of catenins are important in regulating assembly of E-cadherin/catenin and catenin complexes. Here, we sought to determine the spatial distributions of E-cadherin, alpha-catenin, beta-catenin, and plakoglobin, and whether different complexes of these proteins accumulate at steady state in polarized Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. Protein distributions were visualized by wide field, optical sectioning, and double immunofluorescence microscopy, followed by reconstruction of three-dimensional images. In cells that were extracted with Triton X-100 and then fixed (Triton X-100-insoluble fraction), more E-cadherin was concentrated at the apical junction relative to other areas of the lateral membrane. alpha-Catenin and beta-catenin colocalize with E-cadherin at the apical junctional complex. There is some overlap in the distribution of these proteins in the lateral membrane, but there are also areas where the distributions are distinct. Plakoglobin is excluded from the apical junctional complex, and its distribution in the lateral membrane is different from that of E-cadherin. Cells were also fixed and then permeabilized to reveal the total cellular pool of each protein (Triton X-100-soluble and -insoluble fractions). This analysis showed lateral membrane localization of alpha-catenin, beta-catenin, and plakoglobin, and it also revealed that they are distributed throughout the cell. Chemical cross-linking of proteins and analysis with specific antibodies confirmed the presence at steady state of E-cadherin/catenin complexes containing either beta-catenin or plakoglobin, and catenin complexes devoid of E-cadherin. Complexes containing E-cadherin/beta-catenin and E-cadherin/alpha-catenin are present in both the Triton X-100-soluble and -insoluble fractions, but E-cadherin/plakoglobin complexes are not detected in the Triton X-100-insoluble fraction. Taken together, these results show that different complexes of cadherin and catenins accumulate in fully polarized epithelial cells, and that they distribute to different sites. We suggest that cadherin/catenin and catenin complexes at different sites have specialized roles in establishing and maintaining the structural and functional organization of polarized epithelial cells.


1995 ◽  
Vol 131 (6) ◽  
pp. 1839-1847 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Takeda ◽  
A Nagafuchi ◽  
S Yonemura ◽  
S Tsukita ◽  
J Behrens ◽  
...  

The elevation of tyrosine phosphorylation level is thought to induce the dysfunction of cadherin through the tyrosine phosphorylation of beta catenin. We evaluated this assumption using two cell lines. First, using temperature-sensitive v-src-transfected MDCK cells, we analyzed the modulation of cadherin-based cell adhesion by tyrosine phosphorylation. Cell aggregation and dissociation assays at nonpermissive and permissive temperatures indicated that elevation of the tyrosine phosphorylation does not totally affect the cell adhesion ability of cadherin but shifts it from a strong to a weak state. The tyrosine phosphorylation levels of beta catenin, ZO-1, ERM (ezrin/radixin/moesin), but not alpha catenin, vinculin, and alpha-actinin, were elevated in the weak state. To evaluate the involvement of the tyrosine phosphorylation of beta catenin in this shift of cadherin-based cell adhesion, we introduced v-src kinase into L fibroblasts expressing the cadherin-alpha catenin fusion protein, in which beta catenin is not involved in cell adhesion. The introduction of v-src kinase in these cells shifted their adhesion from a strong to a weak state. These findings indicated that the tyrosine phosphorylation of beta catenin is not required for the strong-to-weak state shift of cadherin-based cell adhesion, but that the tyrosine phosphorylation of other junctional proteins, ERM, ZO-1 or unidentified proteins is involved.


1993 ◽  
Vol 122 (4) ◽  
pp. 903-914 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Hölttä ◽  
M Auvinen ◽  
LC Andersson

Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), the key enzyme of polyamine biosynthesis, becomes upregulated during cell proliferation and transformation. Here we show that intact ODC activity is needed for the acquisition of a transformed phenotype in rat 2R cells infected with a temperature-sensitive mutant of Rous sarcoma virus. Addition of the ODC inhibitor alpha-difluoromethyl ornithine (DFMO) to the cells (in polyamine-free medium) before shift to permissive temperature prevented the depolymerization of filamentous actin and morphological transformation. Polyamine supplementation restored the transforming potential of pp60v-src. DFMO did not interfere with the expression of pp60v-src or its in vitro tyrosine kinase activity. The tyrosine phosphorylation of most cellular proteins, including ras GAP, did not either display clear temperature- or DFMO-sensitive changes. A marked increase was, however, observed in the tyrosine phosphorylation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and proteins of 33 and 36 kD upon the temperature shift, and these hyperphosphorylations were partially inhibited by DFMO. A DFMO-sensitive increase was also found in the total phosphorylation of calpactins I and II. The well-documented association of GAP with the phosphotyrosine-containing proteins p190 and p62 did not correlate with transformation, but a novel 42-kD tyrosine phosphorylated protein was complexed with GAP in a polyamine- and transformation-dependent manner. Further, tyrosine phosphorylated proteins of 130, 80/85, and 36 kD were found to coimmunoprecipitate with pp60v-src in a transformation-related manner. Altogether, this model offers a tool for sorting out the protein phosphorylations and associations critical for the transformed phenotype triggered by pp60v-src, and implicates a pivotal role for polyamines in cell transformation.


2004 ◽  
Vol 171 (4S) ◽  
pp. 194-195
Author(s):  
Kyoichi Tomita ◽  
Haruki Kume ◽  
Keishi Kashibuchi ◽  
Satoru Muto ◽  
Shigeo Horie ◽  
...  

Reproduction ◽  
2000 ◽  
pp. 375-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Sundfeldt ◽  
Y Piontkewitz ◽  
H Billig ◽  
L Hedin

The cadherins and their cytoplasmic counterparts, the catenins, form the adherens junctions, which are of importance for tissue integrity and barrier functions. The development and maturation of the ovarian follicle is characterized by structural changes, which require altered expression or function of the components involved in cell-cell contacts. The present study examined the cell-specific localization and temporal expression of epithelial cadherin (E-cadherin) and alpha- and beta-catenin during follicular development, ovulation and corpus luteum formation in the immature gonadotrophin- and oestrogen-stimulated rat ovary. Immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting demonstrated the expression of E-cadherin in theca and interstitial cells of immature ovaries before and after injection of equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG). E-cadherin was not detected in granulosa cells, except in the preantral follicles located to the inner region of the ovary. The content of E-cadherin in theca and interstitial cells decreased after an ovulatory dose of hCG. Granulosa cells of apoptotic follicles did not express E-cadherin. Oestrogen treatment (diethylstilboestrol) of immature rats for up to 3 days did not result in a measurable expression of E-cadherin in granulosa cells. alpha- and beta-catenin were expressed in all ovarian compartments. The concentration of beta-catenin was constant during the follicular phase, whereas the content of alpha-catenin decreased in granulosa cells after treatment with diethylstilboestrol or hCG. The expression of alpha-catenin was also reduced in theca and interstitial cells after hCG. alpha- and beta-catenin were present in most ovarian cells at all stages of folliculogenesis. Therefore, the catenins have the potential to associate with different members of the cadherin family and to participate in the regulation of cytoskeletal structures and intracellular signalling. The restricted expression of E-cadherin in granulosa cells of preantral follicles indicates a role in the recruitment of these follicles to subsequent cycles. The specific decrease of alpha-catenin in granulosa cells and the reduction of both alpha-catenin and E-cadherin in theca cells of ovulatory follicles might reflect some of the molecular changes in cell-cell adhesion associated with ovulation and luteinization.


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