Rho GTPases RhoA and Rac1 Mediate Effects of Dietary Folate on Metastatic Potential of A549 Cancer Cells through the Control of Cofilin Phosphorylation [Metabolism]
August 1st, 2014 by Oleinik, N. V., Helke, K. L., Kistner-Griffin, E., Krupenko, N. I., Krupenko, S. A.
Folate, an important nutrient of human diet, has been implicated in cancer but its role in metastasis is not established. We have previously shown that the withdrawal of media folate leads to the inhibition of migration and invasion of A549 lung carcinoma cells. Here we have demonstrated that media folate regulates the function of Rho GTPases by enabling their carboxyl methylation and translocation to plasma membrane. Conversely, the lack of folate leads to the retention of these proteins in endoplasmic reticulum. Folate also promoted the switch from an inactive (GDP-bound) to active (GTP-bound) GTPases resulting in the activation of downstream kinases PAK and LIMK and phosphorylation of actin depolymerazing factor cofilin. We have further demonstrated that in A549 cells two GTPases, RhoA and Rac1, but not Cdc42, are immediate sensors of folate status: the siRNA silencing of RhoA or Rac1 blocked effects of folate on cofilin phosphorylation and cellular migration and invasion. The finding that folate modulates metastatic potential of cancer cells was confirmed in an animal model of lung cancer using tail vein injection of A549 cells in SCID mice. Folate-rich diet enhanced lung colonization and distant metastasis to lymph nodes, and decreased overall survival (35 versus 63 days for mice on folate-restricted diet). High folate also promoted epithelial-mesenchymal transition in cancer cells and experimental mouse tumors. Our study provides experimental evidence for a mechanism of metastasis promotion by dietary folate and highlights the interaction between nutrients and metastasis-related signaling.