TROY (TNFRSF19) is overexpressed in advanced glial tumors and promotes glioblastoma cell invasion via Pyk2-Rac1 signaling

A critical problem in the treatment of malignant gliomas is the extensive infiltration of individual tumor cells into adjacent brain tissues. This invasive phenotype severely limits all current therapies, and to date, no treatment is available to control the spread of this disease. Members of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) ligand superfamily and their cognate receptors regulate various cellular responses including proliferation, migration, differentiation, and apoptosis. Specifically, the TNFRSF19/TROY gene encodes a type I cell surface receptor that is expressed on migrating or proliferating progenitor cells of the hippocampus, thalamus, and cerebral cortex. Here, we show that levels of TROY mRNA expression directly correlate with increasing glial tumor grade. Among malignant gliomas, TROY expression correlates inversely with overall patient survival. In addition, we show that TROY overexpression in glioma cells activates Rac1 signaling in a Pyk2-dependent manner to drive glioma cell invasion and migration. Pyk2 coimmunoprecipitates with the TROY receptor, and depletion of Pyk2 expression by short hairpin RNA interference oligonucleotides inhibits TROY-induced Rac1 activation and subsequent cellular migration. These findings position aberrant expression and/or signaling by TROY as a contributor, and possibly as a driver, of the malignant dispersion of glioma cells.