β2-AR Activation promotes cleavage and nuclear translocation of Her2 and metastatic potential of cancer cells
Abstract Background The prolonged hypersecretion of catecholamine induced by chronic stress may correlate with various steps of malignant progression of cancer and β2-AR overexpressed in certain cancer cells may translate the signals from neuroendocrine system to malignant signals by interacting with oncoproteins such as Her2. Crosstalk of the cell signaling pathways mediated by β2-AR and Her2 may promote a stronger or more sustained biological response. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying cross-communication between β2-AR and Her2 mediated signaling pathways are not fully understood. Methods In this study, the effects of adrenergic signaling on Her2 cleavage were evaluated by various assays, such as western blot, immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry. In order to reveal the mechanism about Her2 cleavage triggered by β2-AR activation, the molecular and pharmacological means were employed. By using in vitro and in vivo assay, the influences of the crosstalk between β2-AR and Her2 on the bio-behaviors of tumor cells were demonstrated. Results Our data demonstrate that catecholamine stimulation activates the expression and proteolytic activity of ADAM10 by modulating the expression of miR-199a-5p and SIRT1 and also confirm that catecholamine induction triggers the activities of γ-secretase, leading to shedding of Her2 ECD by ADAM10 and subsequent intramembranous cleavage of Her2 ICD by presenilin-dependent γ-secretase, nuclear translocation of Her2 ICD and enhanced transcription of tumor metastasis-associated gene COX-2 . Chronic stimulation of catecholamine strongly promotes the invasive activities of cancer cells in vitro and spontaneous tumor lung metastasis in mice. Furthermore, the nuclear localization of Her2 was significantly correlated with overexpression of β2-AR in human breast cancer tissues. Conclusion This study illustrates that adrenergic signaling activation triggers Her2 cleavage, resulting in enhanced invasive and metastasis activities of cancer cells. Our data also reveal that an unknown mechanism by which the regulated intramembrane proteolysis (RIP) initiated by β2-AR activation controls a novel Her2-mediated signaling transduction under physiological and pathological conditions.