Cell adhesion and signalling in tumor progression and angiogenesis

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Fig. 2. NCAM and FGF differentially affect the intracellular fate of FGFR and induce distinct FGFR-mediated cellular responses.

A series of biochemical and cell biological assays revealed that the cellular response evoked by the stimulation of FGFR with NCAM is dramatically different from that elicited by FGF. The dichotomy applies not only to the signaling cascades triggered by the two ligands, but also to the trafficking of the receptor. Indeed, FGF-stimulated FGFR enters the degradative pathway, while NCAM promotes FGFR stabilization and recycling to the cell surface. Finally, while FGF stimulates cell proliferation, NCAM induces FGFR-mediated cell migration, a process that is dependent on receptor recycling.