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Updated: Jul 31, 2025

Identification of Transcription Factor Regulators using Medium-Throughput Screening of Arrayed Libraries and a Dual-Luciferase-Based Reporter
Published on: March 27, 2020
Pharmacological inhibition of CLK2 activates YAP by promoting alternative splicing of AMOTL2
Maya L Bulos1, Edyta M Grzelak1, Chloris Li-Ma1
1Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA.
Abstract:
Yes-associated protein (YAP), the downstream effector of the evolutionarily conserved Hippo pathway, promotes cellular proliferation and coordinates certain regenerative responses in mammals. Small molecule activators of YAP may therefore display therapeutic utility in treating disease states involving insufficient proliferative repair. From a high-throughput chemical screen of the comprehensive drug repurposing library ReFRAME, here we report the identification of SM04690, a clinical stage inhibitor of CLK2, as a potent activator of YAP driven transcriptional activity in cells. CLK2 inhibition promotes alternative splicing of the Hippo pathway protein AMOTL2, producing an exon-skipped gene product that can no longer associate with membrane-bound proteins, resulting in decreased phosphorylation and membrane localization of YAP. This study reveals a novel mechanism by which pharmacological perturbation of alternative splicing inactivates the Hippo pathway and promotes YAP dependent cellular growth.
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