학술논문

EGFR phosphorylates and inhibits lung tumor suppressor GPRC5A in lung cancer
Document Type
Academic Journal
Source
Molecular Cancer. October 14, 2014, Vol. 13
Subject
Tyrosine -- Physiological aspects -- Research -- Analysis
Viral antibodies -- Analysis -- Physiological aspects -- Research
Antibodies -- Analysis -- Physiological aspects -- Research
Epidermal growth factor -- Research -- Physiological aspects -- Analysis
Language
English
ISSN
1476-4598
Abstract
Background GPRC5A is a retinoic acid inducible gene that is preferentially expressed in lung tissue. Gprc5a- knockout mice develop spontaneous lung cancer, indicating Gprc5a is a lung tumor suppressor gene. GPRC5A expression is frequently suppressed in majority of non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs), however, elevated GPRC5A is still observed in a small portion of NSCLC cell lines and tumors, suggesting that the tumor suppressive function of GPRC5A is inhibited in these tumors by an unknown mechanism. Methods In this study, we examined EGF receptor (EGFR)-mediated interaction and tyrosine phosphorylation of GPRC5A by immunoprecipitation (IP)-Westernblot. Tyrosine phosphorylation of GPRC5A by EGFR was systematically identified by site-directed mutagenesis. Cell proliferation, migration, and anchorage-independent growth of NSCLC cell lines stably transfected with wild-type GPRC5A and mutants defective in tyrosine phosphorylation were assayed. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining analysis with specific antibodies was performed to measure the total and phosphorylated GPRC5A in both normal lung and lung tumor tissues. Result We found that EGFR interacted with GPRC5A and phosphorylated it in two conserved double-tyrosine motifs, Y317/Y320 and Y347/ Y350, at the C-terminal tail of GPRC5A. EGF induced phosphorylation of GPRC5A, which disrupted GPRC5A-mediated suppression on anchorage-independent growth of NSCLC cells. On contrary, GPRC5A-4 F, in which the four tyrosine residues have been replaced with phenylalanine, was resistant to EGF-induced phosphorylation and maintained tumor suppressive activities. Importantly, IHC analysis with anti-Y317/Y320-P sites showed that GPRC5A was non-phosphorylated in normal lung tissue whereas it was highly tyrosine-phosphorylated in NSCLC tissues. Conclusion GPRC5A can be inactivated by receptor tyrosine kinase via tyrosine phosphorylation. Thus, targeting EGFR can restore the tumor suppressive functions of GPRC5A in lung cancer. Keywords: GPRC5A, EGFR, Tyrosine kinase, Lung cancer, Post-translation modification
Author(s): Xiaofeng Lin[sup.1,2,10] , Shuangshuang Zhong[sup.1,2] , Xiaofeng Ye[sup.1,2,11] , Yueling Liao[sup.1,2] , Feng Yao[sup.3] , Xiaohua Yang[sup.4] , Beibei Sun[sup.4] , Jie Zhang[sup.5] , Qi Li[sup.6] , Yong Gao[sup.7] [...]