loading page

Deciphering the Mechanotransduction Symphony: Stiffness-Dependent Interplay of YAP and β-Catenin in Breast Cancer Metastasis
  • +3
  • Fei Geng,
  • Zhi Su,
  • Yuning Wu,
  • Chang Ge,
  • Shumaim Barooj,
  • Jeremy A. Hirota
Fei Geng
McMaster University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

Author Profile
Zhi Su
McMaster University
Author Profile
Yuning Wu
McMaster University
Author Profile
Chang Ge
McMaster University
Author Profile
Shumaim Barooj
McMaster University Department of Medicine
Author Profile
Jeremy A. Hirota
McMaster University
Author Profile

Abstract

Metastatic breast cancer poses a formidable clinical challenge, demanding a comprehensive understanding of the intricate signaling networks orchestrating disease progression. Herein, our findings revealed a pronounced increase in the nuclear translocation of both YAP and β-catenin in MDA-MB-231 cells exposed to a stiff substrate (32 kPa). Intriguingly, YAP knockdown resulted in elevated β-catenin nuclear translocation on soft substrates (2 kPa), while no significant change was observed on stiff substrates. Concurrently, the expression of Wnt/β-catenin downstream genes ( CCND1 and AXIN2) and cell migration were downregulated in MDA-MB-231 cells on stiff substrates following YAP knockdown. Conversely, on soft substrates, β-catenin nuclear localization, downstream gene expression, and cell migration remained unaltered unless both YAP and β-catenin were concurrently silenced, highlighting the compensatory role of β-catenin in response to YAP depletion in the cellular context of mechanotransduction within metastatic breast cancer cells. Moreover, our investigation revealed the significant impact of myosin-II and cell confluency on the interplay between YAP and β-catenin. Thus, we elucidated a paradigm in which β-catenin assumes a compensatory role in response to YAP knockdown, particularly under distinct mechanical conditions. The interplay is finely tuned to the mechanical microenvironment, highlighting the mechanosensitivity of this compensatory mechanism.