title: An inhibitory role for FAK in regulating proliferation: a link between limited adhesion and RhoA-ROCK signaling.
abstract: Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) transduces cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix into proliferative signals. We show that FAK overexpression induced proliferation in endothelial cells, which are normally growth arrested by limited adhesion. Interestingly, displacement of FAK from adhesions by using a FAK-/- cell line or by expressing the C-terminal fragment FRNK also caused an escape of adhesion-regulated growth arrest, suggesting dual positive and negative roles for FAK in growth regulation. Expressing kinase-dead FAK-Y397F in FAK-/- cells prevented uncontrolled growth, demonstrating the antiproliferative function of inactive FAK. Unlike FAK overexpression-induced growth, loss of growth control in FAK-/- or FRNK-expressing cells increased RhoA activity, cytoskeletal tension, and focal adhesion formation. ROCK inhibition rescued adhesion-dependent growth control in these cells, and expression of constitutively active RhoA or ROCK dysregulated growth. These findings demonstrate the ability of FAK to suppress and promote growth, and underscore the importance of multiple mechanisms, even from one molecule, to control cell proliferation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
authors.forename: Dana M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Pirone
authors.forename: Wendy F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Sami Alom
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Srivatsan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Raghavan
authors.forename: Christopher A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Lemmon
authors.forename: Lewis H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Romer
authors.forename: Christopher S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000378:metabolism; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D048430:Cell Shape; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology; D051416:Focal Adhesion Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D022001:Focal Adhesions / Q000378:metabolism; D006131:Growth Inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D051379:Mice; D008954:Models, Biological; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D054460:rho-Associated Kinases; D020742:rhoA GTP-Binding Protein / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D006131:Growth Inhibitors; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; C113183:FAK-related nonkinase; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D051416:Focal Adhesion Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D054460:rho-Associated Kinases; D020742:rhoA GTP-Binding Protein