Kindlin-2 Modulates Proliferation and Migration of Actinic Keratosis Lesions and Metastatic cSCC Cells

Kindlin-2 is a scaffold protein with an important role in activating integrins, which link the cytoskeleton to the extracellular matrix. In epidermal keratinocytes, loss of Kindlin-2 alters adhesion, spreading, proliferation, migration, and formation of focal adhesions and cell-cell junctions, suggesting its importance in the growth and motility of epidermal cells. This study investigated the consequences of targeted FERMT2-silencing in an actinic keratosis lesion and cutaneous squamous carcinoma cell lines. My data demonstrate that Kindlin-2 deficiency decreases the rate of directional migration of all cell lines. However, reduced proliferation and spreading and alterations in focal adhesion and F-actin and microtubule cytoskeletal organization were only observed in the actinic keratosis and metastatic cutaneous squamous carcinoma cell line. To the best of my knowledge, these are novel results evaluating the role of Kindlin-2 in human epidermal carcinomas, which may aid in the development of therapies for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC).