title: Targeting lipid rafts inhibits protein kinase B by disrupting calcium homeostasis and attenuates malignant properties of melanoma cells.
abstract: Failure of current therapeutic modalities to treat melanoma remains a challenge for clinical and experimental oncology. The aggressive growth and apoptotic resistance of this tumor are mediated, in part, by aberrantly activated protein kinase B/Akt (PKB). In many cells, PKB signaling depends on integrity of cholesterol-enriched membrane microdomains (rafts). However, it is still unclear if rafts support deregulated PKB activity in melanoma. In this study, ablation of rafts in murine (B16BL6-8, JB/RH1) and human (GA) melanoma lines by cholesterol-chelating methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (MbetaCD) reduced levels of constitutively active PKB in a dose- and time-dependent manner, while reconstitution of microdomains restored PKB activity. PKB was sensitive to the membrane-permeable Ca2+ chelator 1,2-bis(o-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N'N'-tetraacetic acid tetra (acetocymethyl) ester and to the calmodulin antagonist N-(6-aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-naphtalenesulfonamide (W7) implying the contribution of Ca2+ signaling to PKB deregulation. Indeed, malignant and apoptosis-resistant clone of B16BL6 melanoma (B16BL6-8) displayed significantly higher [Ca2+](i) and store-operated Ca2+ influx (SOC) relative to non-malignant apoptosis-sensitive B16BL6 clone (Kb30) expressing barely detectable basal levels of active PKB. Raft ablation in B16BL6-8 cells robustly inhibited SOC and decreased [Ca2+](i) to levels comparable with those detected in Kb30 cells. Treating cells by PKB-inhibiting doses of M beta CD dramatically impaired their apoptotic resistance and capacity to generate tumors. Furthermore, weekly intraperitoneal injections of M beta CD to mice grafted with melanoma cells at doses of 300 and 800 mg/kg significantly attenuated tumor development. Our data implicate membrane rafts in enhancing the resistance of melanoma to apoptosis and indicate that targeting raft microdomains is a potentially effective strategy to cure this frequently fatal form of cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Ben-Gurion University Cancer Research Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, PO Box 653, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
authors.forename: Shlomit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fedida-Metula
authors.forename: Shira
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Elhyany
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tsory
authors.forename: Shraga
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Segal
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hershfinkel
authors.forename: Israel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sekler
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fishman
mesh_terms: D002118:Calcium / Q000502:physiology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002470:Cell Survival; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D008545:Melanoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D021962:Membrane Microdomains / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D051336:Mitochondrial Membranes / Q000502:physiology; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*
chemical_list: D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D002118:Calcium