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Anoikis, Initiated by Mcl-1 Degradation and Bim Induction, Is Deregulated during Oncogenesis

¹ H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida; ² Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Princeton, New Jersey; and ³ Medical College of Georgia Cancer Center, Augusta, Georgia

Requests for reprints: Hong-Gang Wang, Drug Discovery Program, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL 33612. Phone: 813-745-6764; Fax: 813-745-7265; E-mail: Hong-Gang.Wang{at}Moffitt.org.

Anoikis, a Bax-dependent apoptosis triggered by detachment from the extracellular matrix, is often dysfunctional in metastatic cancer cells. Using wild-type and c-Src–transformed NIH3T3 cells as a model, we identified Mcl-1 degradation and Bim up-regulation as a critical determinant of anoikis initiation. Detachment rapidly degraded Mcl-1 via a GSK-3ß–dependent proteasomal pathway and transcriptionally up-regulated Bim expression. Mcl-1 degradation in the presence of Bim was sufficient to induce anoikis. By analyzing nonmetastatic Saos-2 and metastatic derivative LM7 cells, we confirmed that dysregulation of Mcl-1 degradation and Bim induction during detachment contributes to decreased anoikis sensitivity of metastatic cells. Furthermore, knockdown of Mcl-1 or pharmacologic inhibition of the phosphoinositide-3-kinase/Akt and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways that suppress Mcl-1 degradation and Bim expression could markedly sensitize metastatic breast cancer cells to anoikis and prevent metastases in vivo. Therefore, Mcl-1 degradation primes the cell for Bax activation and anoikis, which can be blocked by oncogenic signaling in metastatic cells. [Cancer Res 2007;67(22):10744–52]

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