Gα13 activation rescues moesin-depletion induced apoptosis in F9 teratocarcinoma cells

Mouse F9 cells differentiate into primitive endoderm when treated with retinoic acid (RA) and into parietal endoderm in response to RA and dibutyryl (db-) cAMP. G protein signaling either blocks or mimics RA-induced differentiation, the latter signaling through the Wnt-β-catenin pathway. In our study, we found that a constitutively active Gα13 mutant induces F9 cells to differentiate into parietal endoderm in the absence of exogenous agents. Gα13 expression and subsequent differentiation are accompanied by β-catenin translocation to the nucleus. Differentiation and changes in cell morphology are supported by rearrangements to the F-actin cytoskeleton. ERM (ezrin–radixin–moesin) proteins, known to link F-actin to transmembrane receptors, are also redistributed during differentiation. Furthermore, morpholino antisense and shRNA approaches show that moesin expression is essential since its knockdown leads to altered F-actin distribution and subsequent apoptosis. Moesin-depleted cells, however, remain attached to the substrate when Gα13 is constitutively expressed, but they do not differentiate into extraembryonic endoderm. Our study demonstrates a link between Gα13 signaling that regulates differentiation of F9 cells through primitive to parietal endoderm and a moesin requirement for cell survival.