Specific activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase by transforming growth factor-beta receptors in lipid rafts is required for epithelial cell plasticity.

Transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta regulates a spectrum of cellular events, including cell proliferation, differentiation, and migration. In addition to the canonical Smad pathway, TGF-beta can also activate mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt, and small GTPases in a cell-specific manner. Here, we report that cholesterol depletion interfered with TGF-beta-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cell migration. This interference is due to impaired activation of MAPK mediated by cholesterol-rich lipid rafts. Cholesterol-depleting agents specifically inhibited TGF-beta-induced activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and p38, but not Smad2/3 or Akt. Activation of ERK or p38 is required for both TGF-beta-induced EMT and cell migration, whereas PI3K/Akt is necessary only for TGF-beta-promoted cell migration but not for EMT. Although receptor heterocomplexes could be formed in both lipid raft and nonraft membrane compartments in response to TGF-beta, receptor localization in lipid rafts, but not in clathrin-coated pits, is important for TGF-beta-induced MAPK activation. Requirement of lipid rafts for MAPK activation was further confirmed by specific targeting of the intracellular domain of TGF-beta type I receptor to different membrane locations. Together, our findings establish a novel link between cholesterol and EMT and cell migration, that is, cholesterol-rich lipid rafts are required for TGF-beta-mediated MAPK activation, an event necessary for TGF-beta-directed epithelial plasticity.