• Media type: E-Article
  • Title: uPAR-deficient mouse keratinocytes fail to produce EGFR-dependent laminin-5, affecting migration in vivo and in vitro
  • Contributor: D'Alessio, Silvia; Gerasi, Laura; Blasi, Francesco
  • Published: The Company of Biologists, 2008
  • Published in: Journal of Cell Science, 121 (2008) 23, Seite 3922-3932
  • Language: English
  • DOI: 10.1242/jcs.037549
  • ISSN: 1477-9137; 0021-9533
  • Origination:
  • Footnote:
  • Description: The urokinase receptor (uPAR) is involved in a series of pathological processes, from inflammation to cancer. We have analyzed in detail the role of uPAR and the mechanisms involved in keratinocyte behavior during wound healing by exploiting uPAR-knockout (KO) mice. In vivo, uPAR-KO mice showed delayed wound healing, with abnormal keratinocyte migration and proliferation. In vitro, unlike wild-type cells, primary uPAR-KO keratinocytes did not proliferate in response to epidermal growth factor (EGF), their growth and migration were not inhibited by EGF-receptor (EGFR) inhibitors, and they did not adhere to uncoated surfaces. Whereas EGFR levels in uPAR-KO keratinocytes were normal, there was no tyrosine phosphorylation upon addition of EGF, and its downstream targets, extracellular-signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2), were not activated. Re-introduction of mouse uPAR rescued all phenotypes. In vitro adhesion and migration defects were associated with the failure of uPAR-KO keratinocytes to normally produce and secrete laminin-5 (LN5), an event that requires EGFR signaling. These results were confirmed in vivo, with LN5 being upregulated during wound healing in wild-type but not in uPAR-KO epidermis.
  • Access State: Open Access