Critical regulation of genes for tumor cell migration by AP-1

The AP-1 transcription factor plays a critical role in regulating tumor cell proliferation and has been implicated in controlling a program of gene expression that mediates cell motility and invasion in vitro. We have utilized two dominant negative AP-1 constructs, TAM67 and aFos, each fused to GFP, to investigate the role of AP-1 complexes in an invasive, clinically derived human tumor cell line, HT-1080. As expected, high levels of both GFP-TAM67 and GFP-aFos arrested HT-1080 cells in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. Strikingly, at low levels GFP-aFos, but not GFP-TAM67, caused a change in colony morphology, impairment of directional motility in a monolayer wound healing assay, as well as inhibition of chemotaxis and haptotaxis. Microarray analysis identified a novel set of AP-1 target genes, including the tumor suppressor TSCL-1 and regulators of actin cytoskeletal dynamics, including the gelsolin-like actin capping protein CapG. The demonstration that AP-1 regulates the expression of genes involved in tumor cell motility and cytoskeletal dynamics in a clinically derived human tumor cell line identifies new pathways of control for tumor cell motility.