Santos Mañes

The term polarity refers to the differential distribution of the macromolecular elements of a cell, resulting in its asymmetry in function, shape and/or content. Polarity is a fundamental property ...

Association of matrix metalloprotease 9 (MMP9) to the cell membrane is considered important in tumor growth and angiogenesis. To dissect this regulatory mechanism, we generated raft and non-raft MMP9 chimeras to force membrane expression in the MCF-7 human breast carcinoma cell line. MMP9 targeting to non-raft cell surface domains rendered a constitutive active membrane MMP9 form, suggesting a contribution by the lipid environment in MMP activation. We generated human breast cancer xenograft models using MCF-7 cells overexpressing secreted and membrane-anchored MMP9. The non-raft MMP9 chimera was constitutively active at the cell membrane in xenografts, but this activation did not correlate with an increase in MMP9-induced angiogenesis. Capillary number and vessel perimeter were specifically increased only in tumors overexpressing wild-type MMP9 (the secreted form); this increase was inhibited when tumors were induced in doxycycline-treated mice. Xenografts from tumor cells overexpressing wild-type MMP9 showed increased vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)/VEGFR2 receptor association, which was also dependent on MMP9 activity. These observations indicate that membrane location can influence MMP9 activity in vitro and in vivo, and confirm the relevance of stromal-associated, but not tumor-bound MMP9 in mediating tumor-induced angiogenesis.

Chemokines are implicated in tumor pathogenesis, although it is unclear whether they affect human cancer progression positively or negatively. We found that activation of the chemokine receptor CCR5 regulates p53 transcriptional activity in breast cancer cells through pertussis toxin–, JAK2-, and p38 mitogen–activated protein kinase–dependent mechanisms. CCR5 blockade significantly enhanced proliferation of xenografts from tumor cells bearing wild-type p53, but did not affect proliferation of tumor xenografts bearing a p53 mutation. In parallel, data obtained in a primary breast cancer clinical series showed that disease-free survival was shorter in individuals bearing the CCR5Δ32 allele than in CCR5 wild-type patients, but only for those whose tumors expressed wild-type p53. These findings suggest that CCR5 activity influences human breast cancer progression in a p53-dependent manner.

Redistribution of specialized molecules in migrating cells develops asymmetry between two opposite cell poles, the leading edge and the uropod. We show that acquisition of a motile phenotype in T lymphocytes results in the asymmetric redistribution of ganglioside GM3- and GM1-enriched raft domains to the leading edge and to the uropod, respectively. This segregation to each cell pole parallels the specific redistribution of membrane proteins associated to each raft subfraction. Our data suggest that raft partitioning is a major determinant for protein redistribution in polarized T cells, as ectopic expression of raft-associated proteins results in their asymmetric redistribution, whereas non-raft-partitioned mutants of these proteins are distributed homogeneously in the polarized cell membrane. Both acquisition of a migratory phenotype and SDF-1α-induced chemotaxis are cholesterol depletion-sensitive. Finally, GM3 and GM1 raft redistribution requires an intact actin cytoskeleton, but is insensitive to microtubule disruption. We propose that membrane protein segregation not only between raft and nonraft domains but also between distinct raft subdomains may be an organizational principle that mediates redistribution of specialized molecules needed for T cell migration.

HIV‐1 infection triggers lateral membrane diffusion following interaction of the viral envelope with cell surface receptors. We show that these membrane changes are necessary for infection, as initial gp120–CD4 engagement leads to redistribution and clustering of membrane microdomains, enabling subsequent interaction of this complex with HIV‐1 co‐receptors. Disruption of cell membrane rafts by cholesterol depletion before viral exposure inhibits entry by both X4 and R5 strains of HIV‐1, although viral replication in infected cells is unaffected by this treatment. This inhibitory effect is fully reversed by cholesterol replenishment of the cell membrane. These results indicate a general mechanism for HIV‐1 envelope glycoprotein‐mediated fusion by reorganization of membrane microdomains in the target cell, and offer new strategies for preventing HIV‐1 infection.

The acquisition of spatial and functional asymmetry between the rear and the front of the cell is a necessary step for cell chemotaxis. Insulin‐like growth factor‐I (IGF‐I) stimulation of the human adenocarcinoma MCF‐7 induces a polarized phenotype characterized by asymmetrical CCR5 chemokine receptor redistribution to the leading cell edge. CCR5 associates with membrane raft microdomains, and its polarization parallels redistribution of raft molecules, including the raft‐associated ganglioside GM1, glycosylphosphatidylinositol‐anchored green fluorescent protein and ephrinB1, to the leading edge. The non‐raft proteins transferrin receptor and a mutant ephrinB1 are distributed homogeneously in migrating MCF‐7 cells, supporting the raft localization requirement for polarization. IGF‐I stimulation of cholesterol‐depleted cells induces projection of multiple pseudopodia over the entire cell periphery, indicating that raft disruption specifically affects the acquisition of cell polarity, but not IGF‐I‐induced protrusion activity. Cholesterol depletion inhibits MCF‐7 chemotaxis, which is restored by replenishing cholesterol. Our results indicate that initial segregation between raft and non‐raft membrane proteins mediates the necessary redistribution of specialized molecules for cell migration.

The coordinated interplay of substrate adhesion and deadhesion is necessary for cell motility. Using MCF-7 cells, we found that insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) induces the adhesion of MCF-7 to vitronectin and collagen in a dose- and time-dependent manner, suggesting that IGF-I triggers the activation of different integrins. On the other hand, IGF-I promotes the association of insulin receptor substrate 1 with the focal adhesion kinase (FAK), paxillin, and the tyrosine phosphatase SHP-2, resulting in FAK and paxillin dephosphorylation. Abrogation of SHP-2 catalytic activity with a dominant-negative mutant (SHP2-C>S) abolishes IGF-I-induced FAK dephosphorylation, and cells expressing SHP2-C>S show reduced IGF-I-stimulated chemotaxis compared with either mock- or SHP-2 wild-type-transfected cells. This impairment of cell migration is recovered by reintroduction of a catalytically active SHP-2. Interestingly, SHP-2-C>S cells show a larger number of focal adhesion contacts than wild-type cells, suggesting that SHP-2 activity participates in the integrin deactivation process. Although SHP-2 regulates mitogen-activated protein kinase activity, the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase inhibitor PD-98059 has only a marginal effect on MCF-7 cell migration. The role of SHP-2 as a general regulator of cell chemotaxis induced by other chemotactic agents and integrins is discussed.