title: Suppression of the invasive capacity of rat ascites hepatoma cells by knockdown of Slingshot or LIM kinase.
abstract: Actin cytoskeletal reorganization is essential for tumor cell migration, adhesion, and invasion. Cofilin and actin-depolymerizing factor (ADF) act as key regulators of actin cytoskeletal dynamics by stimulating depolymerization and severing of actin filaments. Cofilin/ADF are inactivated by phosphorylation of Ser-3 by LIM kinase-1 (LIMK1) and reactivated by dephosphorylation by Slingshot-1 (SSH1) and -2 (SSH2) protein phosphatases. In this study, we examined the roles of cofilin/ADF, LIMK1, and SSH1/SSH2 in tumor cell invasion, using an in vitro transcellular migration assay. In this assay, rat ascites hepatoma (MM1) cells were overlaid on a primary-cultured rat mesothelial cell monolayer and the number of cell foci that transmigrated underneath the monolayer in the presence of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) was counted. The knockdown of cofilin/ADF, LIMK1, or SSH1/SSH2 expression by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) significantly decreased the LPA-induced transcellular migration of MM1 cells and their motility in two-dimensional culture. Knockdown of LIMK1 also suppressed fibronectin-mediated cell attachment and focal adhesion formation. Our results suggest that both LIMK1-mediated phosphorylation and SSH1/SSH2-mediated dephosphorylation of cofilin/ADF are critical for the migration and invasion of tumor cells and that LIMK1 is involved in the transcellular migration of tumor cells by enhancing both adhesion and motility of the cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Horita
authors.forename: Kazumasa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohashi
authors.forename: Mutsuko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mukai
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Kensaku
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mizuno
mesh_terms: D051339:Actin Depolymerizing Factors / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001201:Ascites; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002465:Cell Movement; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D051345:Destrin / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D004848:Epithelium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D022001:Focal Adhesions / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D054461:Lim Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D008246:Lysophospholipids / Q000378:metabolism; D008840:Microfilament Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D010744:Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases; D010766:Phosphorylation; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D051339:Actin Depolymerizing Factors; D000199:Actins; D051345:Destrin; D008246:Lysophospholipids; D008840:Microfilament Proteins; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D054461:Lim Kinases; C515894:Limk1 protein, rat; C529152:SSH1 protein, rat; C529153:SSH2 protein, rat; D010744:Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases; C032881:lysophosphatidic acid