HCV core induces loss of polarity and down-regulates SHIP2 and Dlg1 expression. SHIP2 and PtdIns(3,4)P2 are localized at the basolateral membrane of polarized cells. SHIP2 siRNA and its catalytically inactive mutant disrupt epithelial polarity, and SHIP2 rescues core-induced loss of polarity through RhoA activation.

Signaling triggered by adhesion to the extracellular matrix plays a key role in the spatial orientation of epithelial polarity and formation of lumens in glandular tissues. Phosphoinositide 3-kinase signaling in particular is known to influence the polarization process during epithelial cell morphogenesis. Here, using Madin-Darby canine kidney epithelial cells grown in 3D culture, we show that the p110δ isoform of phosphoinositide 3-kinase colocalizes with focal adhesion proteins at the basal surface of polarized cells. Pharmacological, siRNA- or kinase-dead mediated inhibition of p110δ impair the early stages of lumen formation, resulting in inverted polarized cysts, with no laminin or type IV collagen assembly at cell/extracellular matrix contacts. p110δ also regulates the organization of focal adhesions and membrane localization of dystroglycan. Thus, we uncover a previously unrecognized role for p110δ in epithelial cells in the orientation of the apico-basal axis and lumen formation.