The ubiquitously expressed
Src tyrosine kinases (c-Src, c-Yes, and c-Fyn) regulate intestinal cell growth and differentiation. Src activity is also elevated in the majority of malignant and premalignant
tumors of the colon. The development of fibroblasts with the three ubiquitously expressed
kinases deleted (SYF cells) has identified the role of Src
proteins in the regulation of actin dynamics associated with increased cell migration and invasion. Despite this, unexpectedly nothing is known about the role of the individual
Src kinases on intestinal cell cytoskeleton and/or cell migration. We have previously reported that
villin, an epithelial cell-specific actin-modifying
protein that regulates actin reorganization, cell morphology, cell migration, cell invasion, and apoptosis, is
tyrosine-phosphorylated. In this report using the SYF cells reconstituted individually with c-Src, c-Yes, c-Fyn, and wild type or phosphorylation site mutants of
villin, we demonstrate for the first time the absolute requirement for c-Src in
villin-induced regulation of cell migration. The other major finding of our study is that contrary to previous reports, the nonreceptor
tyrosine kinase, Jak3 (
Janus kinase 3), does not regulate phosphorylation of
villin or
villin-induced cell migration and is, in fact, not expressed in intestinal epithelial cells. Further, we identify SHP-2 and
PTP-PEST (
protein-tyrosine phosphatase proline-,
glutamate-,
serine-, and
threonine-rich sequence) as negative regulators of
c-Src kinase and demonstrate a new function for these
phosphatases in intestinal cell migration. Together, these data suggest that in colorectal
carcinogenesis, elevation of c-Src or down-regulation of SHP-2 and/or
PTP-PEST may promote
cancer metastases and invasion by regulating
villin-induced cell migration and cell invasion.