von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor protein stimulation by thrombin involves RhoA activation

Inactivation of the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor gene is associated with the development of vascular tumors including renal cell carcinoma. Aside from the role played by the VHL protein (pVHL) in negative regulation of hypoxia-inducible factor, 41F-1alpha, pVHL also takes part in cytoskeletal organization. Thrombin is a serine protease involved in angiogenesis and in cancer progression and its action is mediated by the protease-activated receptors (PARs). In several cell types, thrombin induces reorganization of the cytoskeleton along with RhoA activation. Thus, we conducted an investigation on the capacity of thrombin to regulate pVHL expression. Our results demonstrated that VHL mRNA and protein levels were increased by thrombin in cultured renal cancer cells. Cytoplasmic pVHL was redistributed to perinuclear regions and membrane fractions following thrombin treatments. Stimulation of Caki-1 cells with PAR1, PAR2 and PAR4 agonist peptides demonstrated that PAR1 was the receptor involved in thrombin-induced pVHL expression. Western blot analysis confirmed that these cells express PAR1 and that its expression was increased by thrombin. PAR1 activation by both thrombin and an agonist peptide stimulated renal cancer cell invasion through Matrigel. Interestingly, the upregulation of pVHL was dependent on RhoA because C3 exotoxin abolished pVHL induction. However, the pharmacological Rho kinase inhibitor, Y27632, did not influence pVHL expression in the presence of thrombin, suggesting that other RhoA effectors were involved in the process. Together, these results demonstrate that thrombin induces both pVHL expression via PAR1/RhoA activation as well as the stimulation of renal cancer cell invasion suggesting a role for thrombin in tumor invasion.