Protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP)-PEST is a critical regulator of cell adhesion and migration. However, the mechanism by which PTP-PEST is regulated in response to oncogenic signaling to dephosphorylate its substrates remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that activated Ras induces extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2-dependent phosphorylation of PTP-PEST at S571, which recruits PIN1 to bind to PTP-PEST. Isomerization of the phosphorylated PTP-PEST by PIN1 increases the interaction between PTP-PEST and FAK, which leads to the dephosphorylation of FAK Y397 and the promotion of migration, invasion, and metastasis of v-H-Ras-transformed cells. These findings uncover an important mechanism for the regulation of PTP-PEST in activated Ras-induced tumor progression.Most cancer deaths are due to tumor invasion and metastasis rather than to primary tumors. Thus, understanding the fundamental mechanisms underlying tumor cell migration, invasion, and metastasis holds the promise of improving therapeutic approaches for cancer (7). Activating mutations of Ras, a small GTP-binding protein, occur in ϳ30% of human cancers and promote tumor progression (32). Accordingly, considerable effort has been expended in understanding the functions of Ras proteins in tumor cell migration, invasion, and metastasis (6).Cell migration is a highly coordinated and dynamic multistep process of leading-edge protrusion, focal adhesion turnover, tractional force generation, and tail retraction and detachment, all of which involve precise regulation of cell-cell adhesion and cell-to-extracellular matrix adhesion. Focal adhesions are specific regions of cells that make close contact with the extracellular matrix (30,44). Functional regulation of the molecules involved in focal adhesion signaling is a key component of tumor cell motility.Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a ubiquitously expressed nonreceptor protein tyrosine kinase that localizes at focal adhesions, mediates signaling induced by integrins, and plays an important role in many cellular functions (26, 27). Activated FAK, marked by autophosphorylation at Y397, recruits a number of SH2 and SH3 domain-containing proteins, including c-Src. The binding of c-Src to FAK is proposed to disrupt the intramolecular interaction between the c-Src SH2 domain and the negative regulatory carboxy-terminal Y529. Activated Src, in turn, phosphorylates FAK and further enhances FAK activity, thereby forming a positive feedback loop leading to the activation of downstream signaling molecules, such as extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K)/AKT (17,29). FAK can exert control over the rate of focal adhesion turnover and, therefore, cell motility (29). FAK is a positive regulator of normal cell migration, and its overexpression or activation has been shown to promote cancer cell metastasis of some tumor types (17,29). However, accumulated evidence shows that in response to certain oncogenic signals, FAK negatively regulates cancer cell migration and...