. Molecular proximity of seprase and the urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor on malignant melanoma cell membranes: dependence on beta1 integrins and the cytoskeleton. Carcinogenesis 23, 1593-1601.

Invadopodia are proteolytically active membrane protrusions that extend from the ventral surface of invasive tumoral cells grown on an extracellular matrix (ECM). The core machinery controlling invadopodia biogenesis is regulated by the Rho GTPase Cdc42. To understand the upstream events regulating invadopodia biogenesis, we investigated the role of Fgd1, a Cdc42-specific guanine nucleotide exchange factor. Loss of Fgd1 causes the rare inherited human developmental disease faciogenital dysplasia. Here, we show that Fgd1 is required for invadopodia biogenesis and ECM degradation in an invasive cell model and functions by modulation of Cdc42 activation. We also find that Fgd1 is expressed in human prostate and breast cancer as opposed to normal tissue and that expression levels matched tumor aggressiveness. Our findings suggest a central role for Fgd1 in the focal degradation of the ECM in vitro and, for the first time, show a connection between Fgd1 and cancer progression, proposing that it might function during tumorigenesis. [Cancer Res 2009;69(3):747-52]

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Introduction Invasive tumoural or transformed cells grown on an extracellular matrix (ECM) substratum extend proteolytically active protrusions into the matrix from their ventral surfaces; these protrusions have been termed invadopodia [1]. Invadopodial protrusions are actin-based structures enriched in integrins Abstract Invadopodia are proteolytically active protrusions formed by invasive tumoural cells when grown on an extracellular matrix (ECM) substratum. Clearly, invadopodia are specialized membrane domains acting as sites of signal transduction and polarized delivery of components required for focalized ECM degradation. For these reasons, invadopodia are a model to study focal ECM degradation by tumour cells. We investigated the features of invadopodia membrane domains and how altering their composition would affect invadopodia biogenesis and function. This was achieved through multiple approaches including manipulation of the levels of cholesterol and other lipids at the plasma membrane, alteration of cholesterol trafficking by acting on caveolin 1 expression and phosphorylation. We show that cholesterol depletion impairs invadopodia formation and persistence, and that invadopodia themselves

The integral membrane type 1 matrix metalloprotease (MT1-MMP) is a pivotal protease in a number of physiological and pathological processes and confers both non-tumorigenic and tumorigenic cell lines with a specific growth advantage in a three-dimensional matrix. Here we show that, in a melanoma cell line, the majority (80%) of MT1-MMP is sorted to detergent-resistant membrane fractions; however, it is only the detergent-soluble fraction (20%) of MT1-MMP that undergoes intracellular processing to the mature form. Also, this processed MT1-MMP is the sole form responsible for ECM degradation in vitro. Finally, furin-dependent processing of MT1-MMP is shown to occur intracellularly after exit from the Golgi apparatus and prior to its arrival at the plasma membrane. It is thus proposed that the association of MT1-MMP with different membrane subdomains might be crucial in the control of its different activities: for instance in cell migration and invasion and other less defined ones such as MT1-MMP-dependent signaling pathways.

<div>Abstract<p>Invadopodia are proteolytically active membrane protrusions that extend from the ventral surface of invasive tumoral cells grown on an extracellular matrix (ECM). The core machinery controlling invadopodia biogenesis is regulated by the Rho GTPase Cdc42. To understand the upstream events regulating invadopodia biogenesis, we investigated the role of Fgd1, a Cdc42-specific guanine nucleotide exchange factor. Loss of Fgd1 causes the rare inherited human developmental disease faciogenital dysplasia. Here, we show that Fgd1 is required for invadopodia biogenesis and ECM degradation in an invasive cell model and functions by modulation of Cdc42 activation. We also find that Fgd1 is expressed in human prostate and breast cancer as opposed to normal tissue and that expression levels matched tumor aggressiveness. Our findings suggest a central role for Fgd1 in the focal degradation of the ECM <i>in vitro</i> and, for the first time, show a connection between Fgd1 and cancer progression, proposing that it might function during tumorigenesis. [Cancer Res 2009;69(3):747–52]</p></div>

Supplementary Figure 1 from Faciogenital Dysplasia Protein Fgd1 Regulates Invadopodia Biogenesis and Extracellular Matrix Degradation and Is Up-regulated in Prostate and Breast Cancer