Cell aggregation induces phosphorylation of PECAM-1 and Pyk2 and promotes tumor cell anchorage-independent growth
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Phospholipid Mediator Induced Transformation in Three-Dimensional Cultures
Published on: July 27, 2022
Xing Zhang1, Li-hua Xu, Qiang Yu
1Department of Pharmacology, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, China Academy of Sciences, 555 Zuchongzhi Road, Shanghai 201203, China. xingzhangg@hotmail.com
Background:
Apoptosis caused by inadequate or inappropriate cell-matrix interactions is defined as anoikis. Although transformed cells are known to be anoikis-resistant, the underlying mechanisms have not been well understood. We investigated the mechanisms of anoikis resistance of tumor cells.
Results:
We observed that cell aggregation in suspension promoted cell survival and proliferation. We demonstrated a correlation between tumor cell aggregation in suspension and cell growth in soft agar. Analysis of tyrosine kinase-mediated cell survival and growth signaling pathways revealed increased levels of tyrosine-phosphorylation of PECAM-1 and Pyk2 in cell aggregates. We also showed that PECAM-1 and Pyk2 physically interact with each other, and that PECAM-1 carrying a deletion of exons 11-16 could no longer bind to Pyk2. Furthermore, RNA interference-mediated reduction of Pyk2 and PECAM-1 protein levels reduced cell aggregation and inhibited the growth of tumor cells in soft agar.
Conclusions:
The data demonstrated that Pyk2 and PECAM-1 were critical mediators of both anchorage-independent growth and anoikis resistance in tumor cells.
Related Concept Videos
PI3K/mTOR/AKT Signaling Pathway
Intracellular Signaling Affects Focal Adhesions
Some...
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
Interactions Between Signaling Pathways
Convergence and divergence, and cross-talk between signaling pathways
Two distinct signaling pathways can converge on a single functional unit, which may either be a single protein or a complex of proteins. The response is either functionally distinct or synergistic between the two pathways but different from the response...
Cancer Cell Migration through Invadopodia
Mechanism of Lamellipodia Formation
