Alterations of the cytoskeletal organization in tumor cell lines by a cardiotonic drug, vesnarinone, through protein tyrosine phosphorylation.

We describe nonspecific and moderate activation of cellular protein tyrosine phosphorylation by a chemical compound, vesnarinone, which results in enhanced synthesis and/or assembly of cytoskeletal proteins and morphological alterations in several transformed cells. In A431 cells, vesnarinone induced tyrosine phosphorylation of the overexpressed epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) as well as other unidentified proteins, increased the synthesis of cytokeratins, and caused amplification of the intermediate filament networks and cell flattening. The drug effects were abolished by tyrphostin, a protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Two other cell lines responded to the drug with increased synthesis of a cell type-specific cytoskeletal protein: vimentin in QG56 human lung carcinoma cells and alpha-tubulin in NIH3T3 cells transformed with v-src. In all cell lines tested, the drug-induced tyrosine phosphorylation was localized in cell-cell and cell-substrate contacts as detected by immunofluorescent staining. Responsive protein substrates and their sensitivity to the drug varied from one cell line to another as observed by immunoblot analysis. Vesnarinone exerted neither activating nor inhibitory effect on in vitro enzyme reactions including EGFR tyrosine kinase, v-src kinase, and protein tyrosine phosphatases. This suggests that vesnarinone indirectly activates tyrosine phosphorylation of membrane proteins related to cell adhesion, which influences a signaling pathway linked to the stress fiber assembly in certain cell lines. The possible mechanism by which vesnarinone induces the cellular responses is discussed.