bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.07.442906; this version posted May 8, 2021. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. 1 The MAP4K4-STRIPAK complex promotes growth and tissue invasion in 2 medulloblastoma 3 Jessica Migliavacca1, Buket Züllig1, Charles Capdeville1, Michael Grotzer2 and Martin Baumgartner1,* 4 1 Division of Oncology, Children’s Research Center, University Children’s Hospital Zürich, Zürich, 5 Switzerland 6 2 Division of Oncology, University Children’s Hospital Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland 7 8 *e-mail:
[email protected] 9 10 Abstract 11 Proliferation and motility are mutually exclusive biological processes associated with cancer that depend 12 on precise control of upstream signaling pathways with overlapping functionalities. We find that STRN3 13 and STRN4 scaffold subunits of the STRIPAK complex interact with MAP4K4 for pathway regulation in 14 medulloblastoma. Disruption of the MAP4K4-STRIPAK complex impairs growth factor-induced 15 migration and tissue invasion and stalls YAP/TAZ target gene expression and oncogenic growth. The 16 migration promoting functions of the MAP4K4-STRIPAK complex involve the activation of novel PKCs 17 and the phosphorylation of the membrane targeting S157 residue of VASP through MAP4K4. The anti- 18 proliferative effect of complex disruption is associated with reduced YAP/TAZ target gene expression 19 and results in repressed tumor growth in the brain tissue. This dichotomous functionality of the STRIPAK 20 complex in migration and proliferation control acts through MAP4K4 regulation in tumor cells and 21 provides relevant mechanistic insights into novel tumorigenic functions of the STRIPAK complex in 22 medulloblastoma.