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© The Rockefeller University Press, 0021-9525/2002/7/192-b $5.00
The Journal of Cell Biology, Volume 158, Number 2, July 22, 2002 192-b-193

Another name for autotaxin

Autotaxin's conversion of LPC to LPA increases motility.

Aserendipitous discovery by Umezu-Goto et al., whose report appears on page 227, links two previously unrelated fields of study and suggests a new avenue of research for developing cancer therapies. The authors sought to study the production of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), a lipid mediator with multiple biological functions that acts through G-protein–coupled receptors. LPA is produced in plasma from lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) in a reaction catalyzed by the enzyme lysophospholipase D (lysoPLD), but the gene for lysoPLD had not been identified.

After biochemically purifying lysoPLD from fetal bovine serum, Umezu-Goto et al. discovered that the enzyme is identical to autotaxin, an enzyme associated with melanoma cells. Autotaxin was known to stimulate motility in tumor cells, but its mechanism of action was unclear. The new work shows that autotaxin/lysoPLD stimulates motility and proliferation in multiple cancer cell lines, apparently by producing LPA. In the microenvironment of a tumor, LPC secreted by tumor cells or available in the plasma could encounter autotaxin/lysoPLD released by the tumor cells, leading to the production of LPA and the stimulation of tumor growth and migration. Interfering with this signaling loop might be a promising strategy for cancer treatment.

Alan W. Dove

alanwdove{at}earthlink.net

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Related Article

Autotaxin has lysophospholipase D activity leading to tumor cell growth and motility by lysophosphatidic acid production

Makiko Umezu-Goto, Yasuhiro Kishi, Akitsu Taira, Kotaro Hama, Naoshi Dohmae, Koji Takio, Takao Yamori, Gordon B. Mills, Keizo Inoue, Junken Aoki, and Hiroyuki Arai
J. Cell Biol. 2002 158: 227-233. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This Article Full Text (PDF, 440K) PPT slides of all figures Alert me when this article is cited Services Email this article Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new content in the JCB Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Dove, A. W. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Dove, A. W. Related Collections Related Article Social Bookmarking                            What's this?