Transforming growth factor-β suppresses metastasis in a subset of human colon carcinoma cells.

BACKGROUND: TGFβ signaling has typically been associated with suppression of tumor initiation while the role it plays in metastasis is generally associated with progression of malignancy. However, we present evidence here for an anti-metastatic role of TGFβ signaling. METHODS: To test the importance of TGFβ signaling to cell survival and metastasis we compared human colon carcinoma cell lines that are either non-tumorigenic with TGFβ response (FET), or tumorigenic with TGFβ response (FETα) or tumorigenic with abrogated TGFβ response via introduction of dominant negative TGFβRII (FETα/DN) and their ability to metastasize. Metastatic competency was assessed by orthotopic transplantation. Metastatic colony formation was assessed histologically and by imaging. RESULTS: Abrogation of TGFβ signaling through introduction of a dominant negative TGFβ receptor II (TGFβRII) in non-metastatic FETα human colon cancer cells permits metastasis to distal organs, but importantly does not reduce invasive behavior at the primary site. Loss of TGFβ signaling in FETα-DN cells generated enhanced cell survival capabilities in response to cellular stress in vitro. We show that enhanced cellular survival is associated with increased AKT phosphorylation and cytoplasmic expression of inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) family members (survivin and XIAP) that elicit a cytoprotective effect through inhibition of caspases in response to stress. To confirm that TGFβ signaling is a metastasis suppressor, we rescued TGFβ signaling in CBS metastatic colon cancer cells that had lost TGFβ receptor expression due to epigenetic repression. Restoration of TGFβ signaling resulted in the inhibition of metastatic colony formation in distal organs by these cells. These results indicate that TGFβ signaling has an important role in the suppression of metastatic potential in tumors that have already progressed to the stage of an invasive carcinoma. CONCLUSIONS: The observations presented here indicate a metastasis suppressor role for TGFβ signaling in human colon cancer cells. This raises the concern that therapies targeting inhibition of TGFβ signaling may be imprudent in some patient populations with residual TGFβ tumor suppressor activity

Identification of a Novel TGFβ/PKA Signaling Transduceome in Mediating Control of Cell Survival and Metastasis in Colon Cancer

Understanding drivers for metastasis in human cancer is important for potential development of therapies to treat metastases. The role of loss of TGFβ tumor suppressor activities in the metastatic process is essentially unknown.Utilizing in vitro and in vivo techniques, we have shown that loss of TGFβ tumor suppressor signaling is necessary to allow the last step of the metastatic process - colonization of the metastatic site. This work demonstrates for the first time that TGFβ receptor reconstitution leads to decreased metastatic colonization. Moreover, we have identified a novel TGFβ/PKA tumor suppressor pathway that acts directly on a known cell survival mechanism that responds to stress with the survivin/XIAP dependent inhibition of caspases that effect apoptosis. The linkage between the TGFβ/PKA transduceome signaling and control of metastasis through induction of cell death was shown by TGFβ receptor restoration with reactivation of the TGFβ/PKA pathway in receptor deficient metastatic colon cancer cells leading to control of aberrant cell survival.This work impacts our understanding of the possible mechanisms that are critical to the growth and maintenance of metastases as well as understanding of a novel TGFβ function as a metastatic suppressor. These results raise the possibility that regeneration of attenuated TGFβ signaling would be an effective target in the treatment of metastasis. Our work indicates the clinical potential for developing anti-metastasis therapy based on inhibition of this very important aberrant cell survival mechanism by the multifaceted TGFβ/PKA transduceome induced pathway. Development of effective treatments for metastatic disease is a pressing need since metastases are the major cause of death in solid tumors