Transforming growth factor β-induced epithelial to mesenchymal transition requires the Ste20-like kinase SLK independently of its catalytic activity

Invasion can be stimulated in vitro using the soluble ligand transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) to induce a process called epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) characterized by cell-cell junction breakdown and an invasive phenotype. We have previously demonstrated a role for Ste20-like kinase SLK cell migration and invasion. Here we show that SLK depletion in NMuMG mammary epithelial cells significantly impairs their TGFβ-induced migration and invasion. Immunofluorescence studies show that a fraction of SLK localizes to E-cadherin-positive adherens junction and that SLK impairs the breakdown of cell-cell contacts. We find that SLK-depleted cultures express significantly lower levels of vimentin protein as well as Snai1 and E-cadherin mRNA levels following TGF-β treatment. Surprisingly, our data show that SLK depletion does not affect the activation and nuclear translocation of Smad3. Furthermore, we show that expression of a dominant negative kinase does not impair tight junction breakdown and rescues Snai1 mRNA expression levels. Together these data suggest that SLK plays a novel role in TGFβ-induced EMT, independent of Smads, in a kinase activity-independent manner.