E-cadherin mechanotransduction activates EGFR-ERK signaling in epithelial monolayers by inducing ADAM-mediated ligand shedding
The behavior of cells is governed by signals originating from their local environment, including mechanical forces that cells experience. Forces are transduced by mechanosensitive proteins, which can impinge on signaling cascades that are also activated by growth factor receptors upon ligand binding. However, the interplay between these mechanical and biochemical signals in the regulation of intracellular signaling networks remains incompletely understood. To elucidate this mechanochemical crosstalk, we conducted phosphoproteomic and transcriptomic analyses on epithelial monolayers subjected to mechanical strain. This approach revealed ERK signaling as a predominant strain-activated hub, initiated at the level of the upstream EGF receptor. Strain-induced EGFR/ERK signaling relies on mechanosensitive E-cadherin adhesions, as this signaling is disrupted upon genetic modulation of force transduction by the E-cadherin complex. Proximity labeling identified a connection between E-cadherin and ADAM17, an enzyme that mediates the shedding of soluble EGFR ligands. We developed a novel ADAM activity probe to demonstrate that mechanical strain induces ADAM activation, which relays mechanosensitive signaling from E-cadherin adhesions towards EGFR/ERK. Collectively, our data demonstrate how mechanical strain transduced by E-cadherin adhesion modulates the presence of EGFR ligands to regulate downstream ERK activity. Our findings illustrate how mechanical signals and biochemical ligands can operate within a single, linear signaling cascade. Overall design: Transcriptomic profiling of MDCK GII cells after 18% static strain application for 2 hours.