Figure 6.
Mechanism of action model for KLF8/FAK-MMP14 signaling loop in promotion of invasion and metastasis. KLF8 directly activates MMP14 promoter. On the other hand, KLF8 promotes nuclear presence of β-catenin presumably by repressing E-cadherin expression and upregulates TCF1 expression resulting in β-catenin/TCF1-dependent activation of the MMP14 promoter. The KLF8- upregulated MMP14 protein is enriched by FAK on the cell surface where it catalyzes the activation of MMP2 and subsequent ECM degradation required for invasion and metastasis.