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Increased expression of alpha(6)beta(4) integrin in several epithelial cancers promotes tumor progression; however, the mechanism underlying its transcriptional regulation remains unclear. Here, we show that depletion of homeodomain-interacting protein kinase 2 (HIPK2) activates beta(4) transcription that results in a strong increase of beta(4)-dependent mitogen-activated protein kinase and Akt phosphorylation, anchorage-independent growth, and invasion. In contrast, stabilization of HIPK2 represses beta(4) expression in wild-type p53 (wtp53)-expressing cells but not in p53-null cells or cells expressing mutant p53, indicating that HIPK2 requires a wtp53 to inhibit beta(4) transcription. Consistent with our in vitro findings, a strong correlation between beta(4) overexpression and HIPK2 inactivation by cytoplasmic relocalization was observed in wtp53-expressing human breast carcinomas. Under loss of function of HIPK2 or p53, the p53 family members TAp63 and TAp73 strongly activate beta(4) transcription. These data, by revealing that beta(4) expression is transcriptionally repressed in tumors by HIPK2 and p53 to impair beta(4)-dependent tumor progression, suggest that loss of p53 function favors the formation of coactivator complex with the TA members of the p53 family to allow beta(4) transcription.

The integrin alpha(6)beta(4) has been shown to facilitate key functions of carcinoma cells, including their ability to migrate, invade, and evade apoptosis. The mechanism involved seems to be a profound effect of alpha(6)beta(4) on specific signaling pathways, especially the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway. An intimate relationship between alpha(6)beta(4) and growth factor receptors may explain this effect of alpha(6)beta(4) on signaling. Previously, we showed that alpha(6)beta(4) and ErbB-2 can function synergistically to activate the PI3K/Akt pathway. Given that ErbB-2 can activate PI3K only when it heterodimerizes with other members of the epidermal growth factor receptor family, these data imply that other receptors cooperate in this process. Here, we report that alpha(6)beta(4) can regulate the expression of ErbB-3 using several different models and that the consequent formation of an ErbB-2/ErbB-3 heterodimer promotes the alpha(6)beta(4)-dependent activation of PI3K/Akt and the ability of this integrin to impede apoptosis of carcinoma cells. Our data also support the hypothesis that alpha(6)beta(4) can regulate ErbB-3 expression at the translational level as evidenced by the findings that alpha(6)beta(4) does not increase ErbB-3 mRNA significantly, and that this regulation is both rapamycin sensitive and dependent on eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E. These findings provide one mechanism to account for the activation of PI3K by alpha(6)beta(4) and they also provide insight into the regulation of ErbB-3 in carcinoma cells.