The YAP1 and EPHA3 receptor tyrosine kinase axis regulates cellular plasticity and treatment response

Abstract

The transcriptional coregulator YAP1 and the receptor tyrosine kinase EPHA3 regulate key cellular processes, including cell interactions, motility, survival, tissue development, carcinogenesis, and metastasis. Although their individual roles have been extensively studied, their cooperative functions remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated the relationship between EPHA3 and YAP1 in human prostate tumor tissues and cell models. Integrated transcriptomic and immunological analyses reveal a strong positive correlation between YAP1 and EPHA3 expression, which is significantly associated with tumor progression. EPHA3 knockout reduces cell proliferation and increases sensitivity to the androgen receptor inhibitor enzalutamide and the YAP1-TEAD inhibitor CA3 in vitro. EPHA3 depletion also reduces GTP-bound active RHOA and phosphorylated ERK levels and differentially affects epithelial-mesenchymal transition and cancer stem cell programs. In addition, EPHA3 silencing attenuates cell migration and invasion, an effect dependent on YAP1 activation. Bioinformatics analysis further indicates that high YAP1 and EPHA3 correlate with developmental and EMT-related gene signatures. These results demonstrate that the YAP1-EPHA3 axis is a key mediator of cell survival, plasticity, and tumor progression, and may serve as a promising cancer drug target.

Keywords: Cancer progression; Cancer stem cells; Cell signaling; Cellular plasticity; EMT; EPHA3 receptor tyrosine kinase; Prostate cancer cells; RHOA; ROCK1/2; TEAD1; Treatment resistance; YAP1.