We describe micro-western arrays, which enable quantitative, sensitive and high-throughput assessment of protein abundance and modifications following electrophoretic separation of micro-arrayed cell lysates. This method allowed us to measure 91 phosphosites on 67 proteins at six time points following stimulation with five EGF concentrations in A431 human carcinoma cells. We inferred the connectivities among 15 phosphorylation sites across 10 receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK) and 2 sites from Src kinase using Bayesian network modeling and two mutual information-based methods; the three inference methods yielded significant agreement on the network topology. These results imply multiple distinct RTK coactivation mechanisms and support the notion that small amounts of experimental data collected from phenotypically diverse network states may enable network inference.

SUMMARY Deciphering the signaling networks that underlie normal and disease processes remains a major challenge. Here, we report the discovery of signaling components involved in the Toll-like receptor (TLR) response of immune dendritic cells (DCs), including a previously unkown pathway shared across mammalian antiviral responses. By combining transcriptional profiling, genetic and small molecule perturbations, and phosphoproteomics, we uncover 35 signaling regulators, including 16 known regulators, involved in TLR signaling. In particular, we find that Polo-like kinases (Plk) 2 and 4 are essential components of antiviral pathways in vitro and in vivo, and activate a signaling branch involving a dozen proteins among which is Tnfaip2, a gene associated with autoimmune diseases but whose role was unknown. Our study illustrates the power of combining systematic measurements and perturbations to elucidate complex signaling circuits and discover potential therapeutic targets.

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) is a bioactive component derived from honeybee hive propolis. CAPE has been shown to have anti-mitogenic, anti-carcinogenic, and other beneficial medicinal properties. Many of its effects have been shown to be mediated through its inhibition of NF-κB signaling pathways. We took a systematic approach to uncover CAPE’s effects from hours to days on the signaling networks in human prostate cancer cells. We observed that CAPE dosage-dependently suppressed the proliferation of LNCaP, DU-145, and PC-3 human prostate cancer cells. Administration of CAPE by gavage significantly inhibited the tumor growth of LNCaP xenografts in nude mice. Using LNCaP cells as a model system, we examined CAPE’s effect on gene expression, protein signaling, and transcriptional regulatory networks using Micro-Western Arrays and PCR arrays. We built a model of CAPE’s impact on cell signaling which suggested that it acted through inhibition of Akt-related protein signaling networks. Over-expression of Akt1 or cMyc, a downstream target of Akt signaling, significantly blocked the anti-proliferative effects of CAPE. In summary, our results suggest that CAPE administration may be useful as an adjuvant therapy for prostate and potentially other types of cancers that are driven by the AMPK and Akt signaling networks.