Epidermal growth factor and hypoxia-induced expression of CXC chemokine receptor 4 on non-small cell lung cancer cells is regulated by the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/PTEN/AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway and activation of hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha

• Published in: The Journal of biological chemistry 2005-06, Vol.280 (23), p.22473
• Main Authors: Phillips, Roderick J, Mestas, Javier, Gharaee-Kermani, Mehrnaz, Burdick, Marie D, Sica, Antonio, Belperio, John A, Keane, Michael P, Strieter, Robert M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Blotting, Western; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - metabolism; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation; Cell Separation; Cell Survival; Chemokine CXCL12; Chemokines, CXC - metabolism; Chemotaxis; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Epidermal Growth Factor - metabolism; Flow Cytometry; Humans; Hypoxia; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit; Lung Neoplasms - metabolism; Neoplasm Metastasis; Oxygen - metabolism; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases - metabolism; Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases - metabolism; Promoter Regions, Genetic; Protein Kinases - metabolism; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases - metabolism; Proto-Oncogene Proteins - metabolism; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; PTEN Phosphohydrolase; Receptors, CXCR4 - metabolism; RNA, Messenger - metabolism; Signal Transduction; Sirolimus - pharmacology; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases; Transcription Factors - metabolism; Transcription, Genetic; Transcriptional Activation; Transfection; Tumor Suppressor Proteins - metabolism; Up-Regulation
• ISSN: 0021-9258

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) expresses a particularly aggressive metastatic phenotype, and patients with this disease have a poor prognosis. CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) is a cell surface receptor that has been shown to mediate the metastasis of many solid tumors including lung, breast, kidney, and prostate. In addition, overexpression of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is associated with the majority of NSCLC and has been implicated in the process of malignant transformation by promoting cell proliferation, cell survival, and motility. Here we show for the first time that activation of the EGFR by EGF increases CXCR4 expression and the migratory capacity of NSCLC cells. Furthermore, many solid tumors are associated with low oxygen tension, and when NSCLC cells were cultured with EGF under hypoxic conditions, CXCR4 expression was dramatically enhanced. A molecular analysis of these events indicated that augmented CXCR4 expression was regulated by the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/PTEN/AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin signal transduction pathway, activation of hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) 1alpha, and ultimately HIF-1-dependent transcription of the CXCR4 gene. Thus, a combination of low oxygen tension and overexpression of EGFR within the primary tumor of NSCLC may provide the microenvironmental signals necessary to upregulate CXCR4 expression and promote metastasis.