Identification of a PEAK1/ZEB1 signaling axis during TGFβ/fibronectin-induced EMT in breast cancer

Transforming Growth Factor beta (TGFβ) is the archetypal member of the TGFβ superfamily of ligands and has pleiotropic functions during normal development, adult tissue homeostasis and pathophysiological processes such as cancer. In epithelial cancers TGFβ signaling can either suppress tumor growth or promote metastasis via the induction of a well-characterized epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) program. We recently reported that PEAK1 kinase mediates signaling cross talk between TGFβ receptors and integrin/Src/MAPK pathways and functions as a critical molecular regulator of TGFβ-induced breast cancer cell proliferation, migration, EMT and metastasis. Here, we examined the breast cancer cell contexts in which TGFβ induces both EMT and PEAK1, and discovered this event to be unique to oncogene-transformed mammary epithelial cells and triple-negative breast cancer cells. Using the Cancer BioPortal database, we identified PEAK1 co-expressors across multiple malignancies that are also common to the TGFβ response gene signature (TBRS). We then used the ScanSite database to identify predicted protein-protein binding partners of PEAK1 and the PEAK1-TBRS co-expressors. Analysis of the Cytoscape interactome and Babelomics-derived gene ontologies for a novel gene set including PEAK1, CRK, ZEB1, IL11 and COL4A1 enabled us to hypothesize that PEAK1 may be regulating TGFβ-induced EMT via its interaction with or regulation of these other genes. In this regard, we have demonstrated that PEAK1 is necessary for TGFβ to induce ZEB1-mediated EMT in the context of fibronectin/ITGB3 activation. These studies and future mechanistic studies will pave the way toward identifying the context in which TGFβ blockade may significantly improve breast cancer patient outcomes.