CUB domain-containing protein 1 (CDCP1) is a transmembrane protein that is highly expressed in stem cells and frequently overexpressed and tyrosine-phosphorylated in cancer. CDCP1 promotes cancer cell metastasis.
However, the mechanisms that regulate CDCP1 are not well-defined. Here we show that hypoxia induces CDCP1 expression and tyrosine phosphorylation in hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-2α-, but not HIF-1α-, dependent fashion. shRNA knockdown of CDCP1 impairs cancer cell migration under hypoxic conditions, whereas overexpression of HIF-2α promotes the growth of tumor xenografts in association with enhanced CDCP1 expression and tyrosine phosphorylation. Immunohistochemistry analysis of tissue microarray samples from tumors of patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma shows that increased CDCP1 expression correlates with decreased overall survival. Together, these data support a critical role for CDCP1 as a unique HIF-2α target gene involved in the regulation of cancer metastasis, and suggest that CDCP1 is a biomarker and potential therapeutic target for metastatic cancers.
Written by:
Emerling BM, Benes CH, Poulogiannis G, Bell EL, Courtney K, Liu H, Choo-Wing R, Bellinger G, Tsukazawa KS, Brown V, Signoretti S, Soltoff SP, Cantley LC. Are you the author?
Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Reference: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Feb 26;110(9):3483-8.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.1222435110
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 23378636
UroToday.com Investigative Urology Section