Suppression of cell spreading by v-Crk requires Ras-MEK-MAP kinase signaling

Abstract

We investigated the attachment and spreading of v-Crk-transformed cells, v-Crk3Y1, on fibronectin. Transformation by v-Crk virtually suppressed the spreading, but not the attachment, of cells on fibronectin. This suppression of cell spreading was not correlated with the suppression of integrin α5 and β1 expression. However, the spreading of v-Crk3Y1 on fibronectin was dramatically restored by either expression of dominant-negative Ras or treatment with manumycin A, a Ras farnesyltransferase inhibitor. Moreover, both expression of dominant-negative MEK1 and treatment of cells with U0126, a MEK1 inhibitor, restored the cell spreading of v-Crk3Y1. In contrast, neither treatment with LY294002, a PI3K inhibitor, nor expression of dominant-negative C3G showed no effect on cell spreading on fibronectin. Taken together, our results suggest that, among multiple signaling pathways activated by v-Crk, the Ras-MEK1-MAP kinase cascade plays a pivotal role in the suppression of cell spreading on fibronectin, but C3G and the PI3 kinase do not.