PMID- 37381005 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20230707 LR - 20230707 IS - 1478-811X (Electronic) IS - 1478-811X (Linking) VI - 21 IP - 1 DP - 2023 Jun 28 TI - alpha-catenin interaction with YAP/FoxM1/TEAD-induced CEP55 supports liver cancer cell migration. PG - 162 LID - 10.1186/s12964-023-01169-2 [doi] LID - 162 AB - BACKGROUND: Adherens junctions (AJs) facilitate cell-cell contact and contribute to cellular communication as well as signaling under physiological and pathological conditions. Aberrant expression of AJ proteins is frequently observed in human cancers; however, how these factors contribute to tumorigenesis is poorly understood. In addition, for some factors such as alpha-catenin contradicting data has been described. In this study we aim to decipher how the AJ constituent alpha-catenin contributes to liver cancer formation. METHODS: TCGA data was used to detect transcript changes in 23 human tumor types. For the detection of proteins, liver cancer tissue microarrays were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Liver cancer cell lines (HLF, Hep3B, HepG2) were used for viability, proliferation, and migration analyses after RNAinterference-mediated gene silencing. To investigate the tumor initiating potential, vectors coding for alpha-catenin and myristoylated AKT were injected in mice by hydrodynamic gene delivery. A BioID assay combined with mass spectrometry was performed to identify alpha-catenin binding partners. Results were confirmed by proximity ligation and co-immunoprecipitation assays. Binding of transcriptional regulators at gene promoters was investigated using chromatin-immunoprecipitation. RESULTS: alpha-catenin mRNA was significantly reduced in many human malignancies (e.g., colon adenocarcinoma). In contrast, elevated alpha-catenin expression in other cancer entities was associated with poor clinical outcome (e.g., for hepatocellular carcinoma; HCC). In HCC cells, alpha-catenin was detectable at the membrane as well as cytoplasm where it supported tumor cell proliferation and migration. In vivo, alpha-catenin facilitated moderate oncogenic properties in conjunction with AKT overexpression. Cytokinesis regulator centrosomal protein 55 (CEP55) was identified as a novel alpha-catenin-binding protein in the cytoplasm of HCC cells. The physical interaction between alpha-catenin and CEP55 was associated with CEP55 stabilization. CEP55 was highly expressed in human HCC tissues and its overexpression correlated with poor overall survival and cancer recurrence. Next to the alpha-catenin-dependent protein stabilization, CEP55 was transcriptionally induced by a complex consisting of TEA domain transcription factors (TEADs), forkhead box M1 (FoxM1), and yes-associated protein (YAP). Surprisingly, CEP55 did not affect HCC cell proliferation but significantly supported migration in conjunction with alpha-catenin. CONCLUSION: Migration-supporting CEP55 is induced by two independent mechanisms in HCC cells: stabilization through interaction with the AJ protein alpha-catenin and transcriptional activation via the FoxM1/TEAD/YAP complex. CI - (c) 2023. The Author(s). FAU - Tang, Yingyue AU - Tang Y AD - Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. FAU - Thiess, Lena AU - Thiess L AD - Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. FAU - Weiler, Sofia M E AU - Weiler SME AD - Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. FAU - Toth, Marcell AU - Toth M AD - Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. FAU - Rose, Fabian AU - Rose F AD - Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. FAU - Merker, Sabine AU - Merker S AD - CFMP, Core Facility for Mass Spectrometry & Proteomics at the Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany. FAU - Ruppert, Thomas AU - Ruppert T AD - CFMP, Core Facility for Mass Spectrometry & Proteomics at the Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany. FAU - Schirmacher, Peter AU - Schirmacher P AD - Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. FAU - Breuhahn, Kai AU - Breuhahn K AD - Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. kai.breuhahn@med.uni-heidelberg.de. LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't DEP - 20230628 PL - England TA - Cell Commun Signal JT - Cell communication and signaling : CCS JID - 101170464 RN - 0 (alpha Catenin) RN - EC 2.7.11.1 (Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt) RN - 0 (Cep55 protein, mouse) RN - 0 (Cell Cycle Proteins) SB - IM MH - Animals MH - Humans MH - Mice MH - *Adenocarcinoma MH - alpha Catenin MH - *Carcinoma, Hepatocellular MH - Cell Line MH - Cell Movement MH - *Colonic Neoplasms MH - *Liver Neoplasms MH - Neoplasm Recurrence, Local MH - Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt MH - *Cell Cycle Proteins PMC - PMC10304383 OAB - Cell-cell contact in epithelial cells is important for cell polarity, cellular compartmentalisation, as well as tissue architecture during development, homeostasis, and regeneration of adult tissues in metazoans. In this context, adherens junctions (AJs) mechanically sense cell contact information with direct impact on cytoskeletal remodelling, the regulation of signalling pathways, and eventually cell biology. Indeed, the loss of cell-cell contact and cellular polarity are key features in human carcinogenesis and important pathological parameters for the identification of many epithelial tumors.We demonstrate in this study, that overexpression of the AJ constituent alpha-catenin is frequently observed in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). alpha-catenin supports HCC cell proliferation and migration. Together with the oncogene AKT, alpha-catenin moderately facilitates tumor initiation in mouse livers. Using mass spectrometry, we identified several new alpha-catenin interaction partners in the cytosol of liver cancer cells, including the cytokinesis regulator centrosomal protein 55 (CEP55). CEP55 mediates pro-migratory effects and its overexpression in HCC cells is controlled by two molecular mechanisms: alpha-catenin-dependent protein stabilization and transcriptional induction by the TEA domain transcription factors (TEADs)/forkhead box M1 (FoxM1)/yes-associated protein (YAP) complex.In summary, we here describe a new mechanism how changes in cell-cell contact support liver cancer formation and progression. This study demonstrates that dysregulation of the AJ component alpha-catenin contributes to liver carcinogenesis via distinct molecular mechanisms. Video Abstract. OABL- eng OTO - NOTNLM OT - Adherens junctions OT - BioID assay OT - Cell-cell contact OT - Forkhead box M1 OT - Hippo pathway OT - TEA domain transcription factors OT - Yes-associated protein COIS- The authors declare no competing interests. EDAT- 2023/06/29 01:08 MHDA- 2023/06/30 06:42 PMCR- 2023/06/28 CRDT- 2023/06/28 23:37 PHST- 2023/01/19 00:00 [received] PHST- 2023/05/20 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2023/06/30 06:42 [medline] PHST- 2023/06/29 01:08 [pubmed] PHST- 2023/06/28 23:37 [entrez] PHST- 2023/06/28 00:00 [pmc-release] AID - 10.1186/s12964-023-01169-2 [pii] AID - 1169 [pii] AID - 10.1186/s12964-023-01169-2 [doi] PST - epublish SO - Cell Commun Signal. 2023 Jun 28;21(1):162. doi: 10.1186/s12964-023-01169-2.