Protein kinase CK2 activation is required for transforming growth factor β‐induced epithelial–mesenchymal transition

Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) is overexpressed in advanced cancers and promotes tumorigenesis by inducing epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), which enhances invasiveness and metastasis. Although we previously reported that EMT could be induced by increasing CK2 activity alone, it is not known whether CK2 also plays an essential role in TGFβ‐induced EMT. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated whether TGFβ signaling could activate CK2 and, if so, whether such activation is required for TGFβ‐induced EMT. We found that CK2 is activated by TGFβ treatment, and that activity peaks at 48 h after treatment. CK2 activation is dependent on TGFβ receptor (TGFBR) I kinase activity, but independent of SMAD4. Inhibition of CK2 activation through the use of either a CK2 inhibitor or shRNA against CSNK2A1 inhibited TGFβ‐induced EMT. TGFβ signaling decreased CK2β but did not affect CK2α protein levels, resulting in a quantitative imbalance between the catalytic α and regulatory β subunits, thereby increasing CK2 activity. The decrease in CK2β expression was dependent on TGFBRI kinase activity and the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway. The E3 ubiquitin ligases responsible for TGFβ‐induced CK2β degradation were found to be CHIP and WWP1. Okadaic acid (OA) pretreatment protected CK2β from TGFβ‐induced degradation, suggesting that dephosphorylation of CK2β by an OA‐sensitive phosphatase might be required for CK2 activation in TGFβ‐induced EMT. Collectively, our results suggest CK2 as a therapeutic target for the prevention of EMT and metastasis of cancers.