2D-DIGE analysis of phospho-enriched fractions from dasatinib-treated melanoma cell lines

Current therapeutic regimes for metastatic melanoma have failed to provide robust clinical responses. Dasatinib has shown anti-proliferative and anti-invasive effects in vitro; however, not all melanoma cells tested were sensitive to dasatinib. We used 2D-DIGE analysis of phospho-enriched fractions to identify phosphoproteins involved in regulating response to dasatinib in an isogenic pair of melanoma cell lines, one sensitive to dasatinib (WM-115) and the other resistant (WM-266-4). In WM-115 cells treated with dasatinib, 18 unique protein species with altered phosphorylation levels were detected. Dasatinib treatment of WM-266-4 cells resulted in phosphoprotein alterations to four unique protein species. Four phosphorylated forms of Annexin-A2 (ANXA2) were increased in WM-115 cells treated with dasatinib, whilst dasatinib treatment did not alter ANXA2 phosphoprotein levels in WM-266-4 cells. Immunoblotting confirmed that phosphorylation of ANXA2, on tyrosine residues, was increased in WM-115 cells treated with dasatinib. Subsequent knockdown of ANXA2 by siRNA significantly inhibited proliferation of WM-115 cells but did not significantly reduce proliferation of WM-266-4 cells. Therefore, ANXA2 plays a role in regulating proliferation in dasatinib-sensitive WM-115 cells and could potentially play a role in sensitivity to dasatinib in melanoma cells.