title: p38 MAP kinase is necessary for melanoma-mediated regulation of VE-cadherin disassembly.
abstract: Vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin is localized to the endothelial borders and the adherens junctions, which are regulated by changes in mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases, GTPases, and intracellular calcium. We previously showed that melanoma cells induce VE-cadherin disassembly through contact with human umbilical vein endothelial cells in coculture. However, the exact mechanism by which melanoma cells signal endothelial cells to induce VE-cadherin junction disassembly is not well understood. In this study, VE-cadherin junction disassembly was further examined under fluorescence microscopy. We found that melanoma-induced VE-cadherin junction disassembly and upregulation of p38 MAP kinase in endothelial cells is regulated by both soluble factors from melanomas, particularly interleukin (IL)-8, IL-6, and IL-1beta, and through vascular cell adhesion molecule-1. Neutralizing melanoma-secreted soluble factors reduced endothelial gap formation. Endothelial cells transfected with MAP kinase kinase 6, a direct activator of p38 MAP kinase, increased VE-cadherin-mediated gap formation, facilitating melanoma transendothelial migration. In contrast, endothelial cells transfected with small-interfering RNA against p38 MAP kinase expression largely prevented melanoma transendothelial migration in Boyden chamber experiments. These findings indicate that p38 MAP kinase proteins regulate VE-cadherin junction disassembly, facilitating melanoma migration across endothelial cells.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Bioengineering, Penn State Univ., Univ. Park, PA 16802, USA.
authors.forename: Payal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Khanna
authors.forename: Tara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yunkunis
authors.forename: Hari S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Muddana
authors.forename: Hsin Hsin
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Avery
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: August
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dong
mesh_terms: D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015820:Cadherins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002465:Cell Movement; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism*; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008545:Melanoma / Q000378:metabolism*; D019010:Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000378:metabolism; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D000099152:Cadherin 5
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D015820:Cadherins; D016207:Cytokines; D019010:Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D000099152:Cadherin 5