Synthetic D-amino acid peptide inhibits tumor cell motility on laminin-5

Cell motility is partially dependent on interactions between the integrins and the extracellular matrix. Our previous studies have identified synthetic D-amino acid cell adhesion peptides using a combinatorial screening approach. In this study, we demonstrate that HYD1 (kikmviswkg) completely blocks random haptotactic migration and inhibits invasion of prostate carcinoma cells on laminin-5. This effect is adhesion independent and reversible. The inhibition of migration by HYD1 involves a dramatic remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton resulting in increased stress fiber formation and actin colocalization with cortactin at the cell membrane. HYD1 interacts with α6β1 (not α6β4) and α3β1 integrins and surprisingly elevates laminin-5-dependent intracellular signals including focal adhesion kinase, mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase and extracellular signal-regulated kinase. HYD1 does not contain a previously characterized binding sequence for integrins. A scrambled derivative of HYD1, called HYDS (wiksmkivkg), does not interact with the α6 or α3 integrin subunits and is not biologically active. Taken together, these results indicate that HYD1 is a biologically active integrin-targeting peptide that reversibly inhibits tumor cell migration on laminin-5 and uncouples phosphotyrosine signaling from cytoskeletal-dependent migration.