Cell aggregation induces phosphorylation of PECAM-1 and Pyk2 and promotes tumor cell anchorage-independent growth

Background: Apoptosis caused by inadequate or inappropriate cell-matrix interactions is defined as anoikis. Although transformed cells are known to be anoikis-resistant, the underlying mechanisms have not been well understood. We investigated the mechanisms of anoikis resistance of tumor cells. Results: We observed that cell aggregation in suspension promoted cell survival and proliferation. We demonstrated a correlation between tumor cell aggregation in suspension and cell growth in soft agar. Analysis of tyrosine kinase-mediated cell survival and growth signaling pathways revealed increased levels of tyrosine-phosphorylation of PECAM-1 and Pyk2 in cell aggregates. We also showed that PECAM-1 and Pyk2 physically interact with each other, and that PECAM-1 carrying a deletion of exons 11-16 could no longer bind to Pyk2. Furthermore, RNA interference-mediated reduction of Pyk2 and PECAM-1 protein levels reduced cell aggregation and inhibited the growth of tumor cells in soft agar. Conclusions: The data demonstrated that Pyk2 and PECAM-1 were critical mediators of both anchorage-independent growth and anoikis resistance in tumor cells.