Bladder cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer in males in the United States. Invasive behavior is a major determinant of prognosis. In this study, we identified mammalian target of rapamycin complex 2 (mTORC2) as a central regulator of bladder cancer cell migration and invasion. mTORC2 activity was assessed by the extent of phosphorylation of Ser473 in AKT and determined to be approximately 5-fold higher in specimens of invasive human bladder cancer as opposed to non-invasive human bladder cancer. The immortalized malignant bladder cell lines, UMUC-3, J82 and T24 demonstrated higher baseline mTORC2 activity relative to the benign bladder papilloma-derived cell line RT4 and the normal urothelial cell line HU1. The malignant bladder cancer cells also demonstrated increased migration in transwell and denudation assays, increased invasion of matrigel, and increased capacity to invade human bladder specimens. Gene silencing of rictor, a critical component of mTORC2, substantially inhibited bladder cancer cell migration and invasion. This was accompanied by a significant decrease in Rac1 activation and paxillin phosphorylation. These studies identify mTORC2 as a major target for neutralizing bladder cancer invasion.

Mammalian target of rapamycin complex 2 (mTORC2) has been identified as a major regulator of bladder cancer cell migration and invasion. Upstream pathways that mediate mTORC2 activation remain poorly defined. Urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) is a GPI-anchored membrane protein and known activator of cell-signaling. We identified increased uPAR expression in 94% of invasive human bladder cancers and in 54-71% of non-invasive bladder cancers, depending on grade. Normal urothelium was uPAR-immunonegative. Analysis of publicly available datasets identified uPAR gene amplification or mRNA upregulation in a subset of bladder cancer patients with reduced overall survival. Using biochemical approaches, we showed that uPAR activates mTORC2 in bladder cancer cells. Highly invasive bladder cancer cell lines, including T24, J82 and UM-UC-3 cells, showed increased uPAR mRNA expression and protein levels compared with the less aggressive cell lines, UROtsa and RT4. uPAR gene-silencing significantly reduced phosphorylation of Serine-473 in Akt, an mTORC2 target. uPAR gene-silencing also reduced bladder cancer cell migration and Matrigel invasion. S473 phosphorylation was observed by immunohistochemistry in human bladder cancers only when the tumors expressed high levels of uPAR. S473 phosphorylation was not controlled by uPAR in bladder cancer cell lines that are PTEN-negative; however, this result probably did not reflect altered mTORC2 regulation. Instead, PTEN deficiency de-repressed alternative kinases that phosphorylate S473. Our results suggest that uPAR and mTORC2 are components of a single cell-signaling pathway. Targeting uPAR or mTORC2 may be beneficial in patients with bladder cancer.