PTPμ has been shown to regulate the migration of highly invasive glioma cells. In order to understand the molecular mechanism by which PTPμ influences glioma cell migration, we set out to identify substrates of PTPμ. In this manuscript, we identify PKCδ and PLCγ1 as PTPμ substrates. Following the guidelines outlined by Tiganis and Bennett to define a PTP substrate [
Tiganis and Bennett, 2007], we determine that PTPμ directly interacts with PLCγ1 and that PTPμ is able to dephosphorylate PLCγ1
in vitro. Substrate trapping experiments show a catalytically inactive mutant of PTPμ is able to trap PLCγ1 from cell lysates as detected by a phospho-Y783 PLCγ1 antibody. We have not yet been able to demonstrate changes in the tyrosine phosphorylation status of PLCγ1 in intact cells when either wild type or catalytically inactive PTPμ is overexpressed in glioma cell lines followed by stimulation with various growth factors. However, we do provide functional data that PLCγ1 is required for PTPμ to suppress glioma cell migration. Together, the data presented here suggest PTPμ modulates migration by dephosphorylating PLCγ1 on Y783, rendering the enzyme inactive and unable to induce the cytoskeletal changes necessary for migration.
PTPμ expression is dramatically reduced in brain tissue excised from highly dispersive brain tumors compared to normal brain or low-grade astrocytomas [
Burgoyne et al., 2009a]. The non-dispersive glioma cell line, U-87 MG, endogenously expresses PTPμ. In both an
in vitro scratch wound assay and in a 3-dimensional
ex vivo brain slice migration assay, we found that reduction of PTPμ expression in U-87 MG glioma cells increased cell migration [
Burgoyne et al., 2009a]. These data suggest that PTPμ expression suppresses glioma cell dispersal and migration, perhaps by transducing signals in response to cell-cell adhesion. The mechanism whereby full-length PTPμ protein is reduced in glioma cells was determined to be via proteolytic cleavage of PTPμ into an extracellular and an intracellular fragment [
Burden-Gulley et al., 2010;
Burgoyne et al., 2009a;
Burgoyne et al., 2009b]. The extracellular fragment of PTPμ retains its adhesive capabilities within the tumor microenvironment of gliomas. Its presence at the tumor edge has been exploited as a potential diagnostic marker for glioblastomas [
Burden-Gulley et al., 2010]. The intracellular fragment of PTPμ is capable of translocating to the nucleus of glioma cells. Reduction of the intracellular fragment of PTPμ using shRNA and the use of a peptide inhibitor of PTPμ catalytic activity decrease glioma cell migration, demonstrating that the fragment remains catalytically active following cleavage [
Burgoyne et al., 2009a;
Burgoyne et al., 2009b]. Generation of an intracellular PTPμ fragment would preclude PTPμ from dephosphorylating PLCγ1, which is typically localized to the plasma membrane and the leading edge of migrating cells.
Tumor cell migration away from the central tumor mass occurs in response to growth factor gradients. Growth factors bind receptor tyrosine kinases that are often amplified or mutated in human gliomas, such as EGFR and PDGFR [
Kanu et al., 2009;
Teodorczyk and Martin-Villalba, 2010]. Upon ligand binding, RPTKs dimerize and undergo autophosphorylation to generate a series of phosphorylated tyrosine residues [
Ullrich and Schlessinger, 1990]. Several of the resulting phospho-tyrosine residues serve as docking sites for adaptor proteins containing SH2 domains [
Schlessinger, 2000]. Among the several proteins recruited to RPTKs upon ligand binding is PLCγ1 [
Wells and Grandis, 2003], one of a family of enzymes that hydrolyses phosphatidylinositol (4,5) bisphosphate (PIP2) to its components, inositol-triphosphate (IP3) and diacylglycerol (DAG) [
Choi et al., 2007]. In response to RPTK activation, PLCγ1 is recruited to the cell membrane and phosphorylated by the receptor's intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity. In response to growth factors, PLCγ1 can be phosphorylated on Y771, Y783, Y1253 [
Sekiya et al., 2004] with the pattern and degree of phosphorylation depending on the growth factor. Of the tyrosine residues that can be phosphorylated, only tyrosine phosphorylation on residue 783 has been shown to be critical for PLCγ1 activity [
Poulin et al., 2005;
Sekiya et al., 2004;
Yu et al., 1998]. However, it was shown recently that in response to antigen receptor activation, PLCγ1 is phosphorylated on Y775 [
Serrano et al., 2005] and phosphorylation of this residue along with Y783 is required for PLCγ1-mediated responses in Jurkat cells. A role for PLCγ1 in the migration of carcinomas in response to growth factors has been established [
Kassis et al., 1999;
Mouneimne et al., 2004;
Peak et al., 2008;
Piccolo et al., 2002;
Thomas et al., 2003;
Turner et al., 1997] and there is evidence that PLCγ1 plays a role in mediating migration and dispersal in glioma cells as well [
Bruce and Parsa, 1999;
Sala et al., 2008;
Teodorczyk and Martin-Villalba, 2010]. Yet, the mechanism by which PLCγ1 promotes migration is not completely understood. It is known that tumor cell invasion or dispersal requires rearrangement of the tumor cell cytoskeleton to form migratory structures such as lamellipodia and filopodia [
Ridley et al., 2003;
Yamaguchi and Condeelis, 2007]. Recent data suggests PLCγ1 contributes to the migratory phenotype by directly [
Li et al., 2009] or indirectly activating Rac1 [
Jones and Katan, 2007;
Sala et al., 2008], inducing migratory structures such as membrane ruffles and lamellipodia.
Malignant glioblastomas are resistant to current therapies due to their dispersive nature. PTPμ has been shown to modulate glioma cell dispersal in both
in vitro and
ex vivo models. We have demonstrated that full length PTPμ protein expression at the cell surface suppresses migration. In highly dispersive tumors and glioma cell lines, PTPμ is constitutively cleaved to generate an intracellular fragment. When PTPμ is released from the cell membrane as a result of proteolysis, it changes the availability of its substrates. We hypothesize that the mechanism by which full length PTPμ suppresses glioma cell migration is by dephosphorylating and inactivating PLCγ1 at the cell surface, thereby suppressing PLCγ1's ability to initiate remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton. In keeping with this hypothesis, we have shown that the migratory phenotype of U-87 MG cells induced by PTPμ knockdown is blocked by a specific Rac1 inhibitor [
Burgoyne et al., 2009a]. Our current data suggest PLCγ1 activates Rac1 to promote migration in glioma cells and PTPμ acts to suppress migration by dephosphorylating PLCγ1 on residue Y783. Therefore, proteolysis of PTPμ in gliomas would result in PLCγ1 Y783 phosphorylation leading to unchecked cell migration and subsequent dispersal. Future studies will test the hypothesis that PTPμ cleavage is a critical switch that alters the ability of PTPμ to dephosphorylate PLCγ1 thus leading to increased Rac1 activation and the promotion of cell migration.