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Full-Text Articles in Cell and Developmental Biology

Pleckstrin Homology (Ph) Domain Leucine-Rich Repeat Protein Phosphatase Controls Cell Polarity By Negatively Regulating The Activity Of Atypical Protein Kinase C, Xiaopeng Xiong, Xin Li, Yang-An Wen, Tianyan Gao Oct 2016

Pleckstrin Homology (Ph) Domain Leucine-Rich Repeat Protein Phosphatase Controls Cell Polarity By Negatively Regulating The Activity Of Atypical Protein Kinase C, Xiaopeng Xiong, Xin Li, Yang-An Wen, Tianyan Gao

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

The proper establishment of epithelial polarity allows cells to sense and respond to signals that arise from the microenvironment in a spatiotemporally controlled manner. Atypical PKCs (aPKCs) are implicated as key regulators of epithelial polarity. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the negative regulation of aPKCs remains largely unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that PH domain leucine-rich repeat protein phosphatase (PHLPP), a novel family of Ser/Thr protein phosphatases, plays an important role in regulating epithelial polarity by controlling the phosphorylation of both aPKC isoforms. Altered expression of PHLPP1 or PHLPP2 disrupted polarization of Caco2 cells grown in 3D cell cultures …


Talin2-Mediated Traction Force Drives Matrix Degradation And Cell Invasion, Lei Qi, Naser Jafari, Xiang Li, Zaozao Chen, Liqing Li, Vesa P. Hytönen, Benjamin T. Goult, Chang-Guo Zhan, Cai Huang Oct 2016

Talin2-Mediated Traction Force Drives Matrix Degradation And Cell Invasion, Lei Qi, Naser Jafari, Xiang Li, Zaozao Chen, Liqing Li, Vesa P. Hytönen, Benjamin T. Goult, Chang-Guo Zhan, Cai Huang

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Talin binds to β-integrin tails to activate integrins, regulating cell migration, invasion and metastasis. There are two talin genes, TLN1 and TLN2, encoding talin1 and talin2, respectively. Talin1 regulates focal adhesion dynamics, cell migration and invasion, whereas the biological function of talin2 is not clear and, indeed, talin2 has been presumed to function redundantly with talin1. Here, we show that talin2 has a much stronger binding to β-integrin tails than talin1. Replacement of talin2 Ser339 with Cys significantly decreased its binding to β1-integrin tails to a level comparable to that of talin1. Talin2 localizes at invadopodia and is indispensable …


P-Rex1 Promotes Resistance To Vegf/Vegfr-Targeted Therapy In Prostate Cancer, Hira Lal Goel, Bryan Pursell, Leonard D. Shultz, Dale L. Greiner, Rolf A Brekken, Craig W. Vander Kooi, Arthur M. Mercurio Mar 2016

P-Rex1 Promotes Resistance To Vegf/Vegfr-Targeted Therapy In Prostate Cancer, Hira Lal Goel, Bryan Pursell, Leonard D. Shultz, Dale L. Greiner, Rolf A Brekken, Craig W. Vander Kooi, Arthur M. Mercurio

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Autocrine VEGF signaling is critical for sustaining prostate and other cancer stem cells (CSCs), and it is a potential therapeutic target, but we observed that CSCs isolated from prostate tumors are resistant to anti-VEGF (bevacizumab) and anti-VEGFR (sunitinib) therapy. Intriguingly, resistance is mediated by VEGF/neuropilin signaling, which is not inhibited by bevacizumab and sunitinib, and it involves the induction of P-Rex1, a Rac GEF, and consequent Rac1-mediated ERK activation. This induction of P-Rex1 is dependent on Myc. CSCs isolated from the PTENpc−/− transgenic model of prostate cancer exhibit Rac1-dependent resistance to bevacizumab. Rac1 inhibition or P-Rex1 downregulation increases the …


Pi(4)P Promotes Phosphorylation And Conformational Change Of Smoothened Through Interaction With Its C-Terminal Tail, Kai Jiang, Yajuan Liu, Junkai Fan, Jie Zhang, Xiang-An Li, B. Mark Evers, Haining Zhu, Jianhang Jia Feb 2016

Pi(4)P Promotes Phosphorylation And Conformational Change Of Smoothened Through Interaction With Its C-Terminal Tail, Kai Jiang, Yajuan Liu, Junkai Fan, Jie Zhang, Xiang-An Li, B. Mark Evers, Haining Zhu, Jianhang Jia

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

In Hedgehog (Hh) signaling, binding of Hh to the Patched-Interference Hh (Ptc-Ihog) receptor complex relieves Ptc inhibition on Smoothened (Smo). A longstanding question is how Ptc inhibits Smo and how such inhibition is relieved by Hh stimulation. In this study, we found that Hh elevates production of phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PI(4)P). Increased levels of PI(4)P promote, whereas decreased levels of PI(4)P inhibit, Hh signaling activity. We further found that PI(4)P directly binds Smo through an arginine motif, which then triggers Smo phosphorylation and activation. Moreover, we identified the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain of G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (Gprk2) as an …


Targeting Wnt/Β-Catenin Pathway In Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment, Valery Vilchez, Lilia M. Turcios, Francesc Marti, Roberto Gedaly Jan 2016

Targeting Wnt/Β-Catenin Pathway In Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment, Valery Vilchez, Lilia M. Turcios, Francesc Marti, Roberto Gedaly

Surgery Faculty Publications

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Liver cancer is generally related to hepatitis B or C infection and cirrhosis. Usually, patients with HCC are asymptomatic and are diagnosed at late stages when surgical treatment is no longer suitable. Limited treatment options for patients with advanced HCC are a major concern. Therefore, there is an urge for finding novel therapies to treat HCC. Liver cancer is highly heterogeneous and involved deregulation of several signaling pathways. Wnt/β-catenin pathway is frequently upregulated in HCC and it is implicated in maintenance of tumor initiating cells, drug …