Transforming growth factor-beta during carcinogenesis: the shift from epithelial to mesenchymal signaling

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) activates not only TGF-beta type I receptor (TbetaRI) but also c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), changing unphosphorylated Smad3 to its phosphoisoforms: C-terminally phosphorylated Smad3 (pSmad3C) and linker phosphorylated Smad3 (pSmad3L). While the TbetaRI/pSmad3C pathway inhibits growth of normal epithelial cells, JNK/pSmad3L-mediated signaling is involved in invasion by activated mesenchymal cells. During sporadic human colorectal carcinogenesis, TGF-beta signaling confers a selective advantage on tumor cells by shifting from the TbetaRI/pSmad3C pathway characteristic of mature epithelial cells to the JNK/pSmad3L pathway, which is more characteristic of the state of flux shown by the activated mesenchymal cells. JNK acts as a regulator of TGF-beta signaling by increasing the basal level of pSmad3L available for action in the nuclei of the invasive adenocarcinoma, in the meantime shutting down TGF-beta-dependent nuclear activity of pSmad3C. Loss of epithelial homeostasis and acquisition of a migratory, mesenchymal phenotype are essential for tumor invasion. From the viewpoint of TGF-beta signaling, a key therapeutic aim in cancer would be restoration of the lost tumor suppressor function observed in normal colorectal epithelial cells at the expense of effects promoting aggressive behavior of the adenocarcinoma. Specific inhibitors of the JNK/pSmad3L pathway might prove useful in this respect. In the case of molecularly targeted therapy for human cancer, pSmad3L and pSmad3C could be assessed as biomarkers to evaluate the likely benefit from specific inhibition of the JNK/pSmad3L pathway.