Inhibition of arginyltransferase 1 induces transcriptional activity of myocardin-related transcription factor A (MRTF-A) and promotes directional migration.

Myocardin-related transcription factor A (MRTF-A/MAL/MKL1/BSAC) regulates the expression of serum-response factor (SRF)-dependent target genes in response to the Rho-actin signaling pathway. Overexpression or activation of MRTF-A affects shape, migration, and invasion of cells and contributes to human malignancies, including cancer. In this study, we report that inhibition of arginyltransferase 1 (ATE1), an enzyme mediating post-transcriptional protein arginylation, is sufficient to increase MRTF-A activity in MCF-7 human breast carcinoma cells independently of external growth factor stimuli. In addition, silencing or inhibiting ATE1 disrupted E-cadherin-mediated cell-cell contacts, enhanced formation of actin-rich protrusions, and increased the number of focal adhesions, subsequently leading to elevated chemotactic migration. Although arginylated actin did not differentially affect MRTF-A, a rapid loss of E-cadherin and F-actin reorganization preceded MRTF-A activation upon ATE1 inhibition. Conversely, ectopic ATE1 expression was sufficient to render MRTF-A inactive, both in resting cells and in cells with exogenously activated RhoA-actin pathways. In this study, we provide a critical link between protein arginylation and MRTF-A activity and place ATE1 upstream of myocardin-related transcription factor.