The directed movement of fibroblasts towards locally released platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is a critical event in wound healing. Although recent studies have implicated polarized activation of phosphoinositide (PI) 3-kinase in G protein-mediated chemotaxis, the role of 3′ PI lipids in tyrosine kinase-triggered chemotaxis is not well understood. Using evanescent wave microscopy and green fluorescent protein–tagged Akt pleckstrin homology domain (GFP–AktPH) as a molecular sensor, we show that application of a shallow PDGF gradient triggers a markedly steeper gradient in 3′ PI lipids in the adhesion zone of fibroblasts. Polar GFP–AktPH gradients, as well as a new type of radial gradient, were measured from front to rear and from the periphery to the center of the adhesion zone, respectively. A strong spatial correlation between polarized 3′ PI production and rapid membrane spreading implicates 3′ PI lipids as a direct mediator of polarized migration. Analysis of the temporal changes of 3′ PI gradients in the adhesion zone revealed a fast diffusion coefficient (0.5 μm2/s) and short lifetime of 3′ PIs of <1 min. Together, this study suggests that the tyrosine kinase-coupled directional movement of fibroblasts and their radial membrane activity are controlled by local generation and rapid degradation of 3′ PI second messengers.

Estrogens and growth factors such as epidermal growth factor (EGF) act as mitogens promoting cellular proliferation in the breast and in the reproductive tract. Although it was considered originally that these agents manifested their mitogenic actions through separate pathways, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that the EGF and estrogen-mediated signaling pathways are intertwined. Indeed, it has been demonstrated recently that 17␤-estradiol (E2) can induce a rapid activation of mitogenactivated protein kinase (MAPK) in mammalian cells, an event that is independent of both transcription and protein synthesis. In this study, we have used a pharmacological approach to dissect this novel pathway in MCF-7 breast cancer cells and have determined that in the presence of endogenous estrogen receptor, activation of MAPK by E2 is preceded by a rapid increase in cytosolic calcium. The involvement of intracellular calcium in this process was supported by the finding that the presence of EGTA and Ca 2؉ -free medium did not affect the activation of MAPK by E2 and, additionally, that this response was blocked by the addition of the intracellular calcium chelator 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N,N-tetraacetate. Cumulatively, these data indicate that the estrogen receptor, in addition to functioning as a transcription factor, is also involved, through a nongenomic mechanism, in the regulation of both intracellular calcium homeostasis and MAPK-signaling pathways. Although nongenomic actions of estrogens have been suggested by numerous studies in the past, the ability to link estradiol and the estrogen receptor to a well defined signaling pathway strongly supports a physiological role for this activity.