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Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Yeast As a Chassis for Developing Functional Assays to Study Human P53
14:57

Yeast As a Chassis for Developing Functional Assays to Study Human P53

Published on: August 4, 2019

Harness the power: new insights into the inhibition of YAP/Yorkie

Bin Zhao1, Qun-Ying Lei, Kun-Liang Guan

  • 1Department of Pharmacology and Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0815, USA.

Developmental Cell
|March 18, 2009
PubMed

Insights

The Hippo pathway regulates organ size by controlling YAP/Yorkie (Yki) activity. New research explores how plasma membrane regulation influences this critical pathway, impacting cell proliferation and apoptosis in tumorigenesis.

Area of Science:

  • Cell biology
  • Molecular biology
  • Cancer research

Background:

  • The YAP/Yorkie (Yki) transcriptional coactivator is crucial for organ size regulation.
  • Dysregulated YAP/Yki activity contributes to tumorigenesis by promoting cell proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis.
  • The Hippo pathway acts as a brake on YAP/Yki activity, but upstream regulators are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how cellular regulation at the plasma membrane influences the Hippo-YAP/Yki pathway.
  • To elucidate the mechanisms by which membrane-associated events modulate Hippo pathway signaling.
  • To understand the implications of plasma membrane regulation for YAP/Yki activity and its role in organ size control and cancer.

Main Methods:

  • Investigated the role of plasma membrane components in Hippo pathway signaling.
  • Utilized genetic and biochemical approaches to dissect the interactions between membrane proteins and the Hippo pathway.
  • Examined the impact of these interactions on YAP/Yki localization and transcriptional activity.

Main Results:

  • Identified specific plasma membrane regulatory mechanisms that impinge on the Hippo pathway.
  • Demonstrated that cellular events at the plasma membrane can directly modulate YAP/Yki activity.
  • These findings provide new insights into how the Hippo pathway is controlled in response to cellular context.

Conclusions:

  • Plasma membrane regulation is a key determinant of Hippo pathway activity and YAP/Yki function.
  • Understanding these upstream regulators offers potential new therapeutic targets for YAP/Yki-driven cancers.
  • Further research into membrane-cytoskeleton-Hippo pathway crosstalk is warranted.

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