Identifying the common interaction networks of amoeboid motility and cancer cell metastasis

The recently analyzed genome of Naegleria gruberi, a free-living amoeboflagellate of the Heterolobosea clade, revealed a remarkably complex ancestral eukaryote with a rich repertoire of cytoskeletal-, motility- and signaling-genes. This protist, which diverged from other eukaryotic lineages over a billion years ago, possesses the ability for both amoeboid and flagellar motility. In a phylogenomic comparison of two free living eukaryotes with large proteomic datasets of three metastatic tumour entities (malignant melanoma, breast- and prostate-carcinoma), we find common proteins with potential importance for cell motility and cancer cell metastasis. To identify the underlying signaling modules, we constructed for each tumour type a protein-protein interaction network including these common proteins. The connectivity within this interactome revealed specific interactions and pathways which constitute prospective points of intervention for novel anti-metastatic tumour therapies.