Expression of kindlin-3 in melanoma cells impedes cell migration and metastasis

Kindlins are a small family of 4.1-ezrin-radixin-moesin (FERM)-containing cytoplasmic proteins. Kindlin-3 is expressed in platelets, hematopoietic cells, and endothelial cells. Kindlin-3 promotes integrin activation, clustering and outside-in signaling. Aberrant expression of kindlin-3 was reported in melanoma and breast cancer. Intriguingly, kindlin-3 has been reported to either positively or negatively regulate cancer cell metastasis. In this study, we sought to clarify the expression of kindlin-3 in melanoma cells and its role in melanoma metastasis. Two widely used metastatic mouse and human melanoma cell lines B16-F10 and M10, respectively, were examined and found to lack kindlin-3 mRNA and protein expression. When kindlin-3 was ectopically expressed in these cells, cell migration was markedly reduced. These are attributed to aberrant Rac1 and RhoA activation and overt membrane ruffling. Our data demonstrate for the first time that despite its well established role as a positive regulator of integrin-mediated cell adhesion, aberrant expression of kindlin-3 could lead to imbalanced RhoGTPases signaling that impedes rather than promotes cell migration.