MUC1 initiates a calcium signal after ligation by intercellular adhesion molecule-1.

The MUC1 mucin is normally restricted to the apical surface of breast epithelial cells. In tumors, it is frequently overexpressed and underglycosylated. The MUC1 peptide core mediates firm adhesion of tumor cells to adjacent cells via binding to intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1). There is increasing evidence that MUC1 is involved in signaling, with current reports focusing on phosphorylation of the MUC1 cytoplasmic tail after indirect or artificial modes of stimulation. ICAM-1 is the only known direct ligand of the MUC1 extracellular domain. The data presented herein show that MUC1 expressed on the surface of breast cancer cell lines or transfected 293T cells can initiate a calcium-based oscillatory signal on contact with ICAM-1-transfected NIH 3T3 cells, and we present a novel method of quantifying and comparing calcium oscillations. The MUC1-induced signal appears to be distinct from those previously described, and may involve a Src family kinase, phosphoinositol 3-kinase, phospholipase C, and lipid rafts, but not mitogen-activated protein kinase. As calcium signaling has been associated with cytoskeletal change and motility, it is possible that the functions of MUC1 include heterotypic cell-cell adhesion followed by a calcium-based promigratory signal within tumor cells, thus facilitating metastasis.