N-乙酰氨基葡萄糖转移酶Ⅴ过表达对人肝癌细胞粘着斑复合物介导的信号转导作用

为了探讨过表达N 乙酰氨基葡萄糖转移酶Ⅴ (GnT Ⅴ )后 772 1细胞侵袭、迁移等行为改变的机制 ,检测了GnT Ⅴ 772 1及pcDNA3 772 1两组细胞中与恶性表型密切相关的粘着斑激酶 (focalad hesionkinase ,FAK)、PTEN蛋白、蛋白激酶B(PKB)等重要信号分子的表达水平 ,同时测定了 2组细胞非贴壁依赖生长的能力 .利用Western印迹方法检测FAK、PTEN、PKB的表达或磷酸化水平 .利用poly hema使细胞非贴壁生长 ,2组细胞悬浮无血清培养 2 0h ,采用流式细胞仪方法检测细胞的失巢凋亡 (anoikis) .研究发现 ,转染GnT Ⅴ后的肝癌细胞的FAK表达无明显变化 ,FAK的酪氨酸磷酸化水平增高 70 %;而PTEN的表达下降了 4 9%;PKB的磷酸化增加 2 0 0 %;pcDNA3 772 1细胞已有明显凋亡 ,而转染GnT Ⅴ的 772 1细胞未发生凋亡 .结果提示 ,转染GnT Ⅴ后的肝癌细胞迁移力增强 ,可能与其FAK的磷酸化程度升高 ,激酶活力增强有关 ;而能逃逸失巢凋亡是因为PTEN的表达下降 ,PTEN蛋白的磷酸酶活性降低 ,细胞Akt PKB磷酸化水平保持在较高水平 .     

N-乙酰氨基葡萄糖转移酶Ⅴ过表达对人肝癌细胞粘着斑复合物介导的信号转导作用

为了探讨过表达N 乙酰氨基葡萄糖转移酶Ⅴ (GnT Ⅴ )后 772 1细胞侵袭、迁移等行为改变的机制 ,检测了GnT Ⅴ 772 1及pcDNA3 772 1两组细胞中与恶性表型密切相关的粘着斑激酶 (focalad hesionkinase ,FAK)、PTEN蛋白、蛋白激酶B(PKB)等重要信号分子的表达水平 ,同时测定了 2组细胞非贴壁依赖生长的能力 .利用Western印迹方法检测FAK、PTEN、PKB的表达或磷酸化水平 .利用poly hema使细胞非贴壁生长 ,2组细胞悬浮无血清培养 2 0h ,采用流式细胞仪方法检测细胞的失巢凋亡 (anoikis) .研究发现 ,转染GnT Ⅴ后的肝癌细胞的FAK表达无明显变化 ,FAK的酪氨酸磷酸化水平增高 70 %;而PTEN的表达下降了 4 9%;PKB的磷酸化增加 2 0 0 %;pcDNA3 772 1细胞已有明显凋亡 ,而转染GnT Ⅴ的 772 1细胞未发生凋亡 .结果提示 ,转染GnT Ⅴ后的肝癌细胞迁移力增强 ,可能与其FAK的磷酸化程度升高 ,激酶活力增强有关 ;而能逃逸失巢凋亡是因为PTEN的表达下降 ,PTEN蛋白的磷酸酶活性降低 ,细胞Akt PKB磷酸化水平保持在较高水平 .     

基于SH2超亲体的微量样品酪氨酸磷酸化蛋白质组学技术研究进展及应用

酪氨酸磷酸化是生物体内一种重要的蛋白质磷酸化修饰类型,参与细胞信号转导、细胞迁移、凋亡等众多的生命活动过程。在磷酸化蛋白质组学研究中,由于酪氨酸磷酸化蛋白丰度低且有时起始样品量有限,传统的磷酸化蛋白质组富集方法用于酪氨酸磷酸化肽富集效率较低。微量样品的制备技术以及SH2超亲体的引入正在改变酪氨酸磷酸化蛋白质组研究的现状,现对此进行综述。     

人肺癌细胞抑癌基因PTEN的表达与失巢凋亡的关系

应用Northern印迹、Western印迹和DNA梯形片段方法 ,研究 8株不同细胞类型的人肺癌细胞中抑癌基因PTEN的表达与失巢凋亡 (anoikis)的关系 ,并分析在此过程中蛋白激酶B(proteinkinaseB ,PKB)和粘着斑激酶(focaladhesionkinase ,FAK)的作用。发现 8株人肺癌细胞PTEN均有mRNA表达 ,且mRNA水平比较接近。但PTEN的蛋白质水平不一致 ,其中 95C、95D和A1株的PTEN蛋白未检测到 ;A549、A4、A7和L1株的PTEN蛋白有表达 ,但较低 ;而H460 株的PTEN表达较强。PTEN缺失的 95D和高表达的H460 细胞株中PTENcDNA序列分析均未发生片断缺失或点突变。RNA稳定性分析表明 ,95DmRNA稳定性较H460 明显下降。在无血清且去粘附培养条件下 ,高表达PTEN的细胞株H460 可被诱导发生失巢凋亡现象 ,在 10 %血清培养条件下可保护其免于失巢凋亡 ,而PTEN缺失的 95D等和其他PTEN低表达的细胞株却没有发生诱导失巢凋亡现象。进一步研究发现PTEN表达可降低PKB的磷酸化 ,下调FAK蛋白质的表达。结果提示各种人肺癌细胞株中PTEN蛋白表达存在显著差异。PTEN参与了失巢凋亡的发生。     

RNAi引起的Paxillin和p130Cas下调抑制胃癌细胞失巢性生长

P130Cas和paxillin分子是整合素家族下游重要的衔接分子.为了探索这两个分子在肿瘤细胞抗失巢凋亡中的作用,应用RNAi技术分别抑制抗失巢凋亡的胃癌细胞BGC82 3中paxillin和p130cas基因的表达,观察它们对细胞失巢性生长的影响.依据siRNA设计原则,分别设计针对p130cas和paxillin的两条序列;成功的构建了特异性封闭上述两分子的载体pWH1 p130cas和pWH1 paxillin .构建的载体瞬时转染贴壁培养和失巢培养的BGC82 3后,RT PCR和Western印迹检测发现paxillin和p130Cas分子在mRNA及蛋白水平的表达量均明显降低;倒置显微镜下观察发现,贴壁培养的胃癌细胞发生皱缩、脱落;失巢培养的细胞聚集成团的现象受到明显抑制,细胞团比对照组小,且较松散;MTT实验结果表明,失巢培养的BGC82 3pWH1 paxillin 组细胞存活率(32 19%±6 11% )和BGC82 3pWH1 p13 0cas组细胞存活率(2 8 5 2 %±5 0 2 % )与对照组相比显著下降(P <0 0 1vscontrol) ;FCM实验结果发现与失巢培养的对照组相比,BGC82 3pWH1 paxillin和BGC82 3pWH1 p13 0cas组细胞G1期抬高,并出现了凋亡峰.运用RNAi技术分别抑制了BGC82 3细胞中paxillin和p130Cas分子的表达,初步证明paxillin和p130Cas是细胞存活的重要信号分子,在肿瘤细胞抗失巢凋亡过程中具有重要的作用.     

NDRG1对人肠癌细胞失巢凋亡的影响

目的:探讨NDRG1对体外培养的人肠癌细胞系失巣凋亡的影响。方法:采用慢病毒系统将NDRG1表达单元转入人肠癌细胞系SW620、HCT8中,建立相应的过表达稳定细胞系;通过siRNA的方法干扰HCT116和LOVO细胞系中NDRG1的表达,分别在非贴壁培养的情况下培养48小时,采用流式细胞术和TUNEL染色检测细胞的凋亡情况。结果:在贴壁培养条件下,NDRG1过表达并没有显著影响肠癌细胞的生长及增殖,而NDRG1特异性siRNA干扰HCT116细胞中NDRG1的表达后,其凋亡率无明显变化(P0.05)。在悬浮培养条件下,NDRG1过表达的肠癌细胞的失巢凋亡率显著低于正常对照组(P0.05),而用三种不同的siRNA干扰HCT116及LOVO细胞中NDRG1的表达后,其失巢凋亡率均显著高于正常对照组(P0.05)。结论:NDRG1在体外可抑制人肠癌细胞的失巢凋亡。     

miR-935靶向GLUD1调控LKB1缺失型肺癌失巢凋亡机制

[目的]探讨miR-935靶向GLUD1调控LKB1缺失型肺癌细胞失巢凋亡的潜在机制。[方法]分离条件下培养肺癌细胞构建失巢细胞模型,抽取各个分离时间点的细胞总RNA进行miRNA-seq,过表达或敲低差异miRNA后检测LKB1缺失型肺癌细胞A549和H157的失巢凋亡水平。通过miRDB在线分析和遗传学筛选鉴定miRNA的关键底物。根据是否过表达miR-935分为对照组和miR-935过表达组;根据是否敲低GLUD1分为对照组和GLUD1敲低组。[结果]随着分离时间的延长,肺癌细胞中miR-935的表达水平下降(1.47±0.15 vs 0.09±0.01,P<0.05)、GLUD1的表达水平上升(0.87±0.16 vs 1.44±0.21,P<0.05)。过表达miR-935后,肺癌细胞的失巢凋亡水平上升[(15.87±2.23)%vs(49.79±7.63)%,P<0.05]。敲低GLUD1后,肺癌细胞的失巢凋亡水平显著上升[(16.32±3.11)%vs(48.21±5.67)%,P<0.05]。过表达miR-935后,肺癌细胞中GLUD1 mRNA...     

食管癌细胞抗失巢凋亡基因UBCH7的发现与鉴定

失巢凋亡(Anoikis)是细胞失去与细胞外基质(Extra-cellular matrix, ECM)粘附时发生的特殊形式的凋亡, 是机体维持组织稳态的关键机制之一。抗失巢凋亡能力的获得是肿瘤细胞发生远处转移的前提条件之一。为了鉴定与食管癌细胞抗失巢凋亡相关的基因, 文章首先构建食管癌细胞系的逆转录病毒文库, 感染对失巢凋亡敏感的NIH3T3细胞, 利用感染病毒cDNA文库的混合细胞系进行软琼脂集落形成实验, 挑取在悬浮条件下仍可生长成为较大集落的细胞单克隆(潜在具有抗失巢凋亡能力的细胞), 通过逆转录病毒载体特异的引物PCR扩增失巢凋亡抗性克隆基因组中的插入cDNA片段, 以此获得食管癌细胞系cDNA文库中潜在的具有失巢凋亡抗性的基因。经测序发现其中一个失巢凋亡克隆中整合的cDNA片段包括人UBCH7/UBE2L3基因全长的编码序列(开放阅读框)。利用携带pMSCV-UBCH7的逆转录病毒感染NIH3T3细胞进行验证, 结果显示细胞失巢凋亡抗性增强, 并且在具有高转移潜能的食管癌细胞系MLuC1中降调UBCH7表达可减弱其失巢凋亡抗性。这些结果表明, UBCH7/UBE2L3是一个与食管癌失巢凋亡抗性相关的基因。     

食管癌细胞抗失巢凋亡基因UBCH7的发现与鉴定

失巢凋亡(Anoikis)是细胞失去与细胞外基质(Extra-cellular matrix,ECM)粘附时发生的特殊形式的凋亡,是机体维持组织稳态的关键机制之一。抗失巢凋亡能力的获得是肿瘤细胞发生远处转移的前提条件之一。为了鉴定与食管癌细胞抗失巢凋亡相关的基因,文章首先构建食管癌细胞系的逆转录病毒文库,感染对失巢凋亡敏感的NIH3T3细胞,利用感染病毒cDNA文库的混合细胞系进行软琼脂集落形成实验,挑取在悬浮条件下仍可生长成为较大集落的细胞单克隆(潜在具有抗失巢凋亡能力的细胞),通过逆转录病毒载体特异的引物PCR扩增失巢凋亡抗性克隆基因组中的插入cDNA片段,以此获得食管癌细胞系cDNA文库中潜在的具有失巢凋亡抗性的基因。经测序发现其中一个失巢凋亡克隆中整合的cDNA片段包括人UBCH7/UBE2L3基因全长的编码序列(开放阅读框)。利用携带pMSCV-UBCH7的逆转录病毒感染NIH3T3细胞进行验证,结果显示细胞失巢凋亡抗性增强,并且在具有高转移潜能的食管癌细胞系MLuC1中降调UBCH7表达可减弱其失巢凋亡抗性。这些结果表明,UBCH7/UBE2L3是一个与食管癌失巢凋亡抗性相关的基因。     

巴尔通氏体效应蛋白BepE干扰人源Csk蛋白信号通路的结构与功能分析

巴尔通氏体作为多种人类疾病的病原菌,可分泌多种毒力效应蛋白.其中的7个毒力效应蛋白BepA~BepG由一个Ⅳ型分泌系统VirB注入宿主细胞内,干扰宿主细胞的多种信号传递通路.在这7个效应蛋白中,BepD~F的N端含有特征的EPIYA基序.注入宿主细胞后,这些EPIYA基序上的酪氨酸残基被宿主细胞中的SFK激酶磷酸化,磷酸化后的EPIYA基序可与宿主细胞中含SH2结构域的蛋白结合并干扰宿主细胞的SH2蛋白相关信号通路.在此之前,已经有多种病原菌的效应蛋白被发现含有EPIYA基序,并且通过磷酸化的EPIYA干扰哺乳动物宿主的SH2信号通路.这些毒性效应蛋白除EPIYA基序之外并没有明显的序列同源性.与此相应,在人类蛋白质组中目前只发现了6种含有EPIYA基序的蛋白,这个基序出现的频率显著低于基于随机预测的频率,这可能是在人类进化过程中含有EPIYA基序的蛋白会干扰正常信号通路传导而被淘汰.JAM-A是已报道的6个人体内EPIYA蛋白之一,它存在于人血小板中,可通过招募Csk至血小板来避免血栓的形成.已有的报道证明了BepE可与人源Csk相互作用,通过影响Csk的功能进而干扰一系列信号通路.人源Csk蛋白作为一个可以同时被来自于病原菌毒力蛋白和内源蛋白中磷酸化EPIYA基序识别并结合的分子,为我们研究并对比这两种含EPIYA基序的蛋白质对人类细胞中SH2信号通路的作用提供了一个理想的靶标.本文报道了Csk与BepE及JAM-A2种磷酸化多肽复合物高分辨率晶体结构并分别测定其亲和力.Csk与多肽复合物结构显示,Csk与2种多肽结合方式相似,都是通过SH2结构域与磷酸化酪氨酸结合,多肽链垂直于SH2结构域中的β片层.SPR实验结果显示,来源于巴尔通氏体的BepE比人源JAM-A与Csk亲和力高,这暗示毒力蛋白通过磷酸化的EPIYA基序以高亲和力结合人体内含SH2结构域的蛋白,进而干扰SH2蛋白所涉及的信号通路.     

Anchorage-independent phosphorylation of p130(Cas) protects lung adenocarcinoma cells from anoikis

The regulation and function of the signaling adaptor protein p130(Cas) in tumor cell anchorage-independent survival, or anoikis resistance, were investigated in human lung adenocarcinoma cells. The tyrosine phosphorylation and function of p130(Cas) during cell detachment were analyzed in tumor cells and compared with that of normal epithelial cells. Cell detachment trigged rapid dephosphorylation of p130(Cas) in the nontumorigenic and anoikis-sensitive normal epithelial cells, but had no effect on the tyrosine phosphorylation of p130(Cas) in the anoikis-resistant lung adenocarcinoma cells. Further analysis revealed that the total tyrosine kinase activities associated with p130(Cas) in the lung tumor cells are anchorage-independent and are significantly higher than that in the normal cells, in which the p130(Cas)-associated tyrosine kinase activities are anchorage-dependent. Analysis of two known p130(Cas)-associated tyrosine kinases FAK and Src indicated that the regulation of tyrosine phosphorylation of FAK and Src are altered in the tumor cells. Inhibition of Src specifically abolished phosphorylation of p130(Cas) and induced anoikis. Furthermore, overexpression of dominant-negative forms of p130(Cas) also induced apoptosis. Taken together, these data suggest that p130(Cas) mediates a cell survival signal from cell-matrix interaction. Alterations in tumor cells that lead to constitutive phosphorylation of p130(Cas) can prevent cells from anoikis, hence contribute to tumor cell anchorage independence and metastasis.     

Tyrosine phosphorylation of tub and its association with Src homology 2 domain-containing proteins implicate tub in intracellular signaling by insulin.

A mutation in the tub gene leads to maturity-onset obesity, insulin resistance, and progressive retinal and cochlear degeneration in mice. tub is a member of a growing family of genes that encode proteins of unknown function that are remarkably conserved across species. The absence of obvious transmembrane domain(s) or signal sequence peptide motif(s) suggests that Tub is an intracellular protein. Additional sequence analysis revealed the presence of putative tyrosine phosphorylation motifs and Src homology 2 (SH2)-binding sites. Here we demonstrate that in CHO-IR cells, transfected Tub is phosphorylated on tyrosine in response to insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1 and that in PC12 cells, insulin but not EGF induced tyrosine phosphorylation of endogenous Tub. In vitro, Tub is phosphorylated by purified insulin receptor kinase as well as by Abl and JAK 2 but not by epidermal growth factor receptor and Src kinases. Furthermore, upon tyrosine phosphorylation, Tub associated selectively with the SH2 domains of Abl, Lck, and the C-terminal SH2 domain of phospholipase Cgamma and insulin enhanced the association of Tub with endogenous phospholipase Cgamma in CHO-IR cells. These data suggest that Tub may function as an adaptor protein linking the insulin receptor, and possibly other protein-tyrosine kinases, to SH2-containing proteins.     

Control of adhesion-dependent cell survival by focal adhesion kinase

The interactions of integrins with extracellular matrix proteins can activate focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and suppress apoptosis in normal epithelial and endothelial cells; this subset of apoptosis has been termed "anoikis." Here, we demonstrate that FAK plays a role in the suppression of anoikis. Constitutively activated forms of FAK rescued two established epithelial cell lines from anoikis. Both the major autophosphorylation site (Y397) and a site critical to the kinase activity (K454) of FAK were required for this effect. Activated FAK also transformed MDCK cells, by the criteria of anchorage-independent growth and tumor formation in nude mice. We provide evidence that this transformation resulted primarily from the cells' resistance to anoikis rather than from the activation of growth factor response pathways. These results indicate that FAK can regulate anoikis and that the conferral of anoikis resistance may suffice to transform certain epithelial cells.     

Mitotic phosphorylation rescues Abl from F-actin-mediated inhibition

We have previously shown that F-actin exerts a negative effect on Abl tyrosine kinase activity. This inhibition results from a direct association of F-actin with the C terminus of Abl and accounts, in part, for the loss of Abl activity in detached fibroblasts. We report here that Abl from mitotic cells or cells treated with the protein phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid remains active when detached from the extracellular matrix. Aspartic acid substitution of Thr(566), which is phosphorylated in mitotic or okadaic acid-treated cells, is sufficient to abolish F-actin-mediated inhibition and to maintain Abl activity despite cell detachment. A recent crystal structure of the Abl N-terminal region has revealed autoinhibitory interactions among the Src homology 3 (SH3), SH2, and kinase domains. We found that deletion of the SH2 domain also abolished the negative effect of F-actin on kinase activity. Immediately following the kinase domain in Abl is a proline-rich linker (PRL) that binds to several SH3 adaptor proteins. Interestingly, binding of the Crk N-terminal SH3 domain to the PRL also disrupted F-actin-mediated inhibition of Abl kinase. These results suggest that F-actin may reinforce the autoinhibitory interactions to regulate Abl kinase and that inhibition can be relieved through phosphorylation and/or protein interactions with the Abl PRL region.     

Lack of Correlation between Activation of Jun–NH2-terminal Kinase and Induction of Apoptosis after Detachment of Epithelial Cells

Detachment of epithelial cells from the extracellular matrix leads to induction of programmed cell death, a process that has been termed “anoikis.” It has been reported recently that detachment of MDCK cells from matrix results in activation of Jun–NH₂-terminal kinases (JNKs) and speculated that these stress activated protein kinases play a causal role in the induction of anoikis (Frisch, S.M., K. Vuori, D. Kelaita, and S. Sicks. 1996. J. Cell Biol. 135:1377–1382). We report here that although JNK is activated by detachment of normal MDCK cells, study of cell lines expressing activated signaling proteins usually controlled by Ras shows that stimulation of JNK fails to correlate with induction of anoikis. Activated phosphoinositide 3-OH kinase and activated PKB/Akt protect MDCK cells from detachment-induced apoptosis without suppressing JNK activation. Conversely, activated Raf and dominant negative SEK1, a JNK kinase, attenuate detachment-induced JNK activation without protecting from apoptosis. zVAD-fmk, a peptide inhibitor of caspases, prevents MDCK cell anoikis without affecting JNK activation. p38, a related stress-activated kinase, is also stimulated by detachment from matrix, but inhibition of this kinase with SB 203580 does not protect from anoikis. It is therefore unlikely that either JNK or p38 play a direct role in detachment-induced programmed cell death in epithelial cells.     

Biochemical properties of the Cdc42-associated tyrosine kinase ACK1. Substrate specificity, authphosphorylation, and interaction with Hck

ACK1 (activated Cdc42-associated kinase 1) is a nonreceptor tyrosine kinase and the only tyrosine kinase known to interact with Cdc42. To characterize the enzymatic properties of ACK, we have expressed and purified active ACK using the baculovirus/Sf9 cell system. This ACK1 construct contains (from N to C terminus) the kinase catalytic domain, SH3 domain, and Cdc42-binding Cdc42/Rac interactive binding (CRIB) domain. We characterized the substrate specificity of ACK1 using synthetic peptides, and we show that the specificity of the ACK1 catalytic domain most closely resembles that of Abl. Purified ACK1 undergoes autophosphorylation, and autophosphorylation enhances kinase activity. We identified Tyr284 in the activation loop of ACK1 as the primary autophosphorylation site using mass spectrometry. When expressed in COS-7 cells, the Y284F mutant ACK1 showed dramatically reduced levels of tyrosine phosphorylation. Although the SH3 and CRIB domains of purified ACK1 are able to bind ligands (a polyproline peptide and Cdc42, respectively), the addition of ligands did not stimulate tyrosine kinase activity. To characterize potential interacting partners for ACK1, we screened several SH2 and SH3 domains for their ability to bind to full-length ACK1 or to the catalytic-SH3-CRIB construct. ACK1 interacts most strongly with the SH3 domains of Src family kinases (Src or Hck) via its C-terminal proline-rich domain. Co-expression of Hck with kinase-inactive ACK1(K158R) in mammalian cells resulted in tyrosine phosphorylation of ACK1, suggesting that ACK1 is a substrate for Hck. Our data suggest that Hck is a novel binding partner for ACK1 that can regulate ACK1 activity by phosphorylation.     

Tyrosine phosphorylation of Grb2 by Bcr/Abl and epidermal growth factor receptor: a novel regulatory mechanism for tyrosine kinase signaling.

Growth factor receptor-binding protein-2 (Grb2) plays a key role in signal transduction initiated by Bcr/Abl oncoproteins and growth factors, functioning as an adaptor protein through its Src homology 2 and 3 (SH2 and SH3) domains. We found that Grb2 was tyrosine-phosphorylated in cells expressing BCR/ABL and in A431 cells stimulated with epidermal growth factor (EGF). Phosphorylation of Grb2 by Bcr/Abl or EGF receptor reduced its SH3-dependent binding to Sos in vivo, but not its SH2-dependent binding to Bcr/Abl. Tyr209 within the C-terminal SH3 domain of Grb2 was identified as one of the tyrosine phosphorylation sites, and phosphorylation of Tyr209 abolished the binding of the SH3 domain to a proline-rich Sos peptide in vitro. In vivo expression of a Grb2 mutant where Tyr209 was changed to phenylalanine enhanced BCR/ABL-induced ERK activation and fibroblast transformation, and potentiated and prolonged Grb2-mediated activation of Ras, mitogen-activated protein kinase and c-Jun N-terminal kinase in response to EGF stimulation. These results suggest that tyrosine phosphorylation of Grb2 is a novel mechanism of down-regulation of tyrosine kinase signaling.     

Functional role of death-associated protein 3 (DAP3) in anoikis

Detachment of adherent epithelial cells from the extracellular matrix induces apoptosis, known as anoikis. Integrin stimulation protects cells from anoikis, but the responsible mechanisms are not well known. Here, we demonstrated that a pro-apoptotic GTP-binding protein, DAP3 (death-associated protein 3), is critical for induction of anoikis. Down-regulation of DAP3 expression by antisense oligonucleotides inhibited anoikis. Conversely, overexpression of DAP3 augmented cell death and caspase activation induced by cell detachment. Furthermore, the association of DAP3 with FADD and the activation of caspase-8 were induced by cell detachment. We also showed that DAP3 is phosphorylated by kinase Akt (PKB), and active Akt can nullify apoptosis induction by DAP3. Mutation of a consensus Akt phosphorylation site in DAP3 renders it resistant to suppression by active Akt in cells. Integrin ligation stimulates Akt activation and phosphorylation of DAP3 in intact cells, as well as suppresses the ability of DAP3 overexpression to augment anoikis. Involvement of DAP3 in anoikis signaling demonstrates a novel role for this GTP-binding protein in apoptosis induction caused by cell detachment.