Role of JAK2-PAK1 interaction in prolactin-dependent signaling

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In normal mammary development, the hormone prolactin (PRL) is critical for alveolar proliferation and differentiation. Increasing evidence supports the involvement of PRL in breast cancer, the leading type of cancer in women and the second leading cause (after lung cancer) of cancer death among women. In 2008, 40,480 women are expected to die from breast cancer in the U.S. The prolactin receptor (PRLR) is detected in 80% of human breast cancers and is overexpressed in breast cancer cells. Normal and tumor mammary epithelial cells synthesize PRL and PRLR, thus the PRL could behave as an autocrine growth factor for human breast cancer cells. These results suggest the need for a more complete understanding of PRLR signaling in breast cancer. Tyrosine (Tyr) kinase JAK2 was identified as a PRLR-bound signaling molecule. Identification of the proteins recruited to the PRLR-JAK2 and dissection of the signaling pathways that are subsequently activated will ultimately provide a basis for understanding PRL action. Preliminary data demonstrate that the serine-threonine kinase PAK1 associates with and is Tyr phosphorylated by JAK2. Two-dimensional peptide mapping identified three Tyr(s) of PAK1 which are phosphorylated by JAK2. Tyr phosphorylation of PAK1 by JAK2 was also shown to increase cell motility. In this grant we propose to examine the hypothesis prolactin-dependent JAK2 phosphorylation of PAK1 regulates PAK1 activity. Activated PAK1 regulation of target proteins may depend on phosphorylation events or/and protein-protein interactions, leading to the formation of a multiprotein complex that modulates the actin cytoskeleton, increases cell motility and invasiveness, mediates cyclin D1 gene transcription and affects tumorigenicity of human breast cancer cells. Aim1 will determine the role of JAK2-phosphorylated PAK1 in regulating PRL-dependent actin cytoskeleton rearrangement, cell motility and invasiveness. Aim2 will determine the role of PAK1 in regulating PRL-activated cyclin D1 gene transcription. Finally, Aim3 will determine whether JAK2 phosphorylation of PAK1 affects the tumorigenicity of human breast cancer cells in vivo. Because both PAK1 and PRL have been implicated in breast cancer, the proposed studies may ultimately fill out the existing gap between upstream PRL-PRLR-JAK2 events and downstream PAK1-dependent functions in our understanding of the mechanism of human breast cancer. Tyr phosphorylation of PAK1 by JAK2 is likely to represent a novel molecular target in the search for the etiology and treatment of human breast cancer.