7049

TGFBR3

epithelial to mesenchymal transitions (EMTs) contribute to increases in cellular motility and invasiveness during embryonic development and tumorigenesis. The transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) signaling pathway is a key regulator of EMT. The TGF-beta superfamily coreceptor, the type III TGF-beta receptor (TbetaRIII or betaglycan), is required for EMT during embryonic heart development and palate fusion. Here, we establish that in a pancreatic cancer model of EMT, TbetaRIII expression is specifically lost during EMT at the mRNA and protein levels, whereas levels of the TGF-beta type I and type II receptors are maintained at the mRNA level. Loss of TbetaRIII expression at the protein level precedes the loss of E-cadherin and cytoskeletal reorganization during early stages of EMT. However, maintaining TbetaRIII expression does not block these aspects of EMT, but instead suppresses the increased motility and invasiveness associated with EMT. Reciprocally, shRNA-mediated knockdown of endogenous TbetaRIII increases cellular motility without affecting Snail or E-cadherin levels. The ability of TbetaRIII to suppress motility and invasiveness does not depend on its cytoplasmic domain or its coreceptor function. Instead, this suppression of invasion is partially mediated by ectodomain shedding of TbetaRIII, generating soluble TbetaRIII (sTbetaRIII). In human pancreatic cancer specimens, TbetaRIII expression decreases at both the mRNA and protein levels, with the degree of loss correlating with worsening tumor grade. Taken together, these studies support a role for loss of TbetaRIII expression during the EMT of pancreatic cancer progression, with a specific role for sTbetaRIII in suppressing EMT-associated increases in motility and invasion.

Growth differentiation factor-10 (GDF10), commonly referred as BMP3b, is a member of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily. GDF10/BMP3b has been considered as a tumor suppressor, however, little is known about the molecular mechanism of its roles in tumor suppression in oral cancer. Clinical significance of GDF10 downregulation in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) was evaluated using three independent cohorts of OSCC patients. The molecular mechanisms of GDF10 in the suppression of cell survival, cell migration/invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) were investigated by using oral cancer cell lines. The present study shows that GDF10 is downregulated during oral carcinogenesis, and GDF10 expression is also an independent risk factor for overall survival of OSCC patients. Overexpression of GDF10 attenuates cell proliferation, transformation, migration/invasion, and EMT. GDF10-inhibited EMT is mediated by ERK signaling but not by typical TGF-beta signaling. In addition, overexpression of GDF10 promotes DNA damage-induced apoptosis and sensitizes the response to all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and camptothecin (CPT). Intriguingly, the expression of GDF10 is induced by type III TGF-beta receptor (TGFBR3) through TGF-beta-SMAD2/3 signaling. Our findings suggest that TGFBR3 is an upstream activator of GDF10 expression and they share the same signaling to inhibit EMT and migration/invasion. These results support that GDF10 acts as a hinge to collaborate with TGFBR3 in the transition of EMT-MET program. Taken together, we illustrated the clinical significance and the molecular mechanisms of tumor-suppressive GDF10 in OSCC.CI - (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Previous studies indicate that TGFBR3 (transforming growth factor type III receptor, also known as betaglycan), a novel suppressor of progression in certain cancers, is down-regulated in tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC). However, the role of this factor as an upstream regulator in TSCC cells remains to be elucidated. The present study was designed to elucidate whether TGFBR3 gene expression is regulated by two microRNA molecules, miR-19a and miR-424. The study also aimed to determine if these microRNAs promote migration of CAL-27 human oral squamous cells. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and western blot analyses demonstrated that TGFBR3 protein levels were dramatically down-regulated in clinical TSCC specimens. Conversely, bioinformatics analyses and qRT-PCR results confirmed that both miR-19a and miR-424 were markedly up-regulated in clinical TSCC specimens. In this study, we observed that transfection of a TGFBR3-containing plasmid dramatically inhibited epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and migration in CAL-27 cells. Co-immunoprecipitation analyses also revealed that TGFBR3 forms a complex with the beta-arrestin 2 scaffolding protein and IkappaBalpha. Furthermore, overexpression of TGFBR3 decreased p-p65 expression and increased IkappaBalpha expression; these effects were subsequently abolished following knockdown of beta-arrestin 2. Moreover, over-expression of miR-19a and miR-424 promoted migration and EMT in CAL-27 cells. We also observed that the promotion of EMT by miR-19a and miR-424 was mediated by the inhibition of TGFBR3. Our study provides evidence that miR-19a and miR-424 play important roles in the development of TSCC. These results expand our understanding of TGFBR3 gene expression and regulatory mechanisms pertaining to miRNAs.

An early event in heart valve formation is the epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) of a subpopulation of endothelial cells in specific regions of the heart tube, the endocardial cushions. The Type III TGFbeta receptor (TGFbetaR3) is required for TGFbeta2- or BMP-2-stimulated EMT in atrioventricular endocardial cushion (AVC) explants in vitro but the mediators downstream of TGFbetaR3 are not well described. Using AVC and ventricular explants as an in vitro assay, we found an absolute requirement for specific TGFbetaR3 cytoplasmic residues, GAIP-interacting protein, C terminus (GIPC), and specific Activin Receptor-Like Kinases (ALK)s for TGFbetaR3-mediated EMT when stimulated by TGFbeta2 or BMP-2. The introduction of TGFbetaR3 into nontransforming ventricular endocardial cells, followed by the addition of either TGFbeta2 or BMP-2, results in EMT. TGFbetaR3 lacking the entire cytoplasmic domain, or only the 3C-terminal amino acids that are required to bind GIPC, fails to support EMT in response to TGFbeta2 or BMP-2. Overexpression of GIPC in AVC endocardial cells enhanced EMT while siRNA-mediated silencing of GIPC in ventricular cells overexpressing TGFbetaR3 significantly inhibited EMT. Targeting of specific ALKs by siRNA revealed that TGFbetaR3-mediated EMT requires ALK2 and ALK3, in addition to ALK5, but not ALK4 or ALK6. Taken together, these data identify GIPC, ALK2, ALK3, and ALK5 as signaling components required for TGFbetaR3-mediated endothelial cell EMT.CI - Copyright A(c) 2011. Published by Elsevier Inc.