The Cas family of multiadaptor and scaffold molecules has an essential role in intracellular signaling events. Although these proteins do not have enzymatic or transcriptional activity, they ...spatially and temporally control signaling events through their ability to undergo changes in phosphorylation and to associate with effectors proteins in multimolecular complexes. The involvement of p130Cas in cell motility as a component of the integrin signaling machinery is well established. Here, we discuss recent developments that highlight a fundamental role in cell transformation and microbial pathogenesis and the implications of these developments on p130Cas function under normal and pathological conditions.
Tyrosine (Tyr) phosphorylation (TP) is important for promotion of plants' signaling. Arabidopsis calcium-dependent protein kinase related protein kinases (CRK2 and CRK3) phosphorylate Tyr residues of ...a subset of transcription factors (TFs), including herbivory-responsive ethylene response factor 13 (ERF13), but the
functions of these kinases in plant defense responses and development remain to be clarified. We show that when CRKs were coexpressed with ERF13 in Arabidopsis leaf protoplasts, the transcription activity regulated via ERF13 was elevated by CRK2 but not CRK3 or their kinase-dead form mutants. Moreover, this elevation was abolished when a Tyr-phosphorylation mutant of ERF was coexpressed with CRK2, indicating that CRK2 serves as an effector of ERF13 mediated by Tyr-phosphorylation. Moreover, CRK2 and CRK3 acted as effectors of RAP2.6 and WRKY14, respectively. CRK-overexpressing lines and knockout mutants of Arabidopsis plants showed increased and decreased expression levels of the defensin gene
in leaves, respectively, conferring on the plants modulated defense properties against the generalist herbivore
. However, these lines did not show any obvious developmental defects, indicating that CRKs play a role in defense responses but not in the ordinary growth or development of plants. Transcription of both
and
was positively regulated by jasmonate signaling and abscisic acid (ABA) signaling upon herbivory. Our findings suggest that these phytohormone-responsive CRKs work coordinately for plant defense responses via Tyr phosphorylation of herbivory-responsive regulators.
The role of c-Crk (CRK) in promoting metastasis is well described however the role of CRK phosphorylation and the corresponding signaling events are not well explained. We have observed CRK-II serine ...41 phosphorylation is inversely correlated with p120-catenin and E-cadherin expressions in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. Therefore, we investigated the role of CRK-II serine 41 phosphorylation in the down-regulation of p120-catenin, cell motility and cell invasiveness in NSCLC cells. For this purpose, we expressed phosphomimetic and phosphodeficient CRK-II serine 41 mutants in NSCLC cells. NSCLC cells expressing phosphomimetic CRK-II seine 41 mutant showed lower p120-catenin level while CRK-II seine 41 phosphodeficient mutant expression resulted in higher p120-catenin. In addition, A549 cells expressing CRK-II serine 41 phosphomimetic mutant demonstrated more aggressive behavior in wound healing and invasion assays and, on the contrary, expression of phosphodeficient CRK-II serine 41 mutant in A549 cells resulted in reduced cell motility and invasiveness. We also provide evidence that PAK1 mediates CRK-II serine 41 phosphorylation. RNAi mediated silencing of PAK1 increased p120-catenin level in A549 and H157 cells. Furthermore, PAK1 silencing decreased cell motility and invasiveness in A549 cells. These effects were abrogated in A549 cells expressing phosphomimetic CRK-II serine 41. In summary, these data provide evidence for the role of PAK1 in the promotion of cell motility, cell invasiveness and the down regulation of p120-catenin through CRK serine 41 phosphorylation in NSCLC cells.
Formation and dissolution of intercellular adhesions are processes of paramount importance during tissue morphogenesis and for pathological conditions such as tumor metastasis. Cadherin-mediated ...intercellular adhesion requires dynamic regulation of the actin cytoskeleton. The pathways that link cadherin signaling to cytoskeletal regulation remain poorly defined. We have recently uncovered a novel role for the Abl family of tyrosine kinases linking cadherin-mediated adhesion to actin dynamics via the regulation of Rho family GTPases. Abl kinases are activated by cadherin engagement, localize to cell-cell junctions, and are required for the formation of adherens junctions. Notably, we showed that Abl kinases are required for Rac activation during formation of adherens junctions, and also regulate a Rho-ROCK-myosin signaling pathway that is required for the maintenance of intercellular adhesion. Here we show that Abl kinases regulate the formation and strengthening of adherens junctions downstream of active Rac, and that Abl tyrosine kinases are components of a positive feed-back loop that employs the Crk/CrkL adaptor proteins to promote the formation and maturation of adherens junctions.
PDF
