scholarly journals Mechanoregulation of YAP and TAZ in Cellular Homeostasis and Disease Progression

Author(s):  
Xiaomin Cai ◽  
Kuei-Chun Wang ◽  
Zhipeng Meng

Biophysical cues, such as mechanical properties, play a critical role in tissue growth and homeostasis. During organ development and tissue injury repair, compressive and tensional forces generated by cell-extracellular matrix or cell-cell interaction are key factors for cell fate determination. In the vascular system, hemodynamic forces, shear stress, and cyclic stretch modulate vascular cell phenotypes and susceptibility to atherosclerosis. Despite that emerging efforts have been made to investigate how mechanotransduction is involved in tuning cell and tissue functions in various contexts, the regulatory mechanisms remain largely unknown. One of the challenges is to understand the signaling cascades that transmit mechanical cues from the plasma membrane to the cytoplasm and then to the nuclei to generate mechanoresponsive transcriptomes. YAP and its homolog TAZ, the Hippo pathway effectors, have been identified as key mechanotransducers that sense mechanical stimuli and relay the signals to control transcriptional programs for cell proliferation, differentiation, and transformation. However, the upstream mechanosensors for YAP/TAZ signaling and downstream transcriptome responses following YAP/TAZ activation or repression have not been well characterized. Moreover, the mechanoregulation of YAP/TAZ in literature is highly context-dependent. In this review, we summarize the biomechanical cues in the tissue microenvironment and provide an update on the roles of YAP/TAZ in mechanotransduction in various physiological and pathological conditions.

2019 ◽  
Vol 294 (46) ◽  
pp. 17693-17706 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ishani Dasgupta ◽  
Dannel McCollum

To perceive their three-dimensional environment, cells and tissues must be able to sense and interpret various physical forces like shear, tensile, and compression stress. These forces can be generated both internally and externally in response to physical properties, like substrate stiffness, cell contractility, and forces generated by adjacent cells. Mechanical cues have important roles in cell fate decisions regarding proliferation, survival, and differentiation as well as the processes of tissue regeneration and wound repair. Aberrant remodeling of the extracellular space and/or defects in properly responding to mechanical cues likely contributes to various disease states, such as fibrosis, muscle diseases, and cancer. Mechanotransduction involves the sensing and translation of mechanical forces into biochemical signals, like activation of specific genes and signaling cascades that enable cells to adapt to their physical environment. The signaling pathways involved in mechanical signaling are highly complex, but numerous studies have highlighted a central role for the Hippo pathway and other signaling networks in regulating the YAP and TAZ (YAP/TAZ) proteins to mediate the effects of mechanical stimuli on cellular behavior. How mechanical cues control YAP/TAZ has been poorly understood. However, rapid progress in the last few years is beginning to reveal a surprisingly diverse set of pathways for controlling YAP/TAZ. In this review, we will focus on how mechanical perturbations are sensed through changes in the actin cytoskeleton and mechanosensors at focal adhesions, adherens junctions, and the nuclear envelope to regulate YAP/TAZ.


2000 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 1664-1677 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laure Bally-Cuif ◽  
Carole Goutel ◽  
Marion Wassef ◽  
Wolfgang Wurst ◽  
Frédéric Rosa

During embryonic development in vertebrates, the endoderm becomes patterned along the anteroposterior axis to produce distinct derivatives. How this regulation is controlled is not well understood. We report that the zebrafish hairy/enhancer of split [E(spl)]-related gene her5 plays a critical role in this process. At gastrulation, following endoderm induction and further cell interaction processes including a local release of Notch/Delta signaling, her5 expression is progressively excluded from the presumptive anterior- and posteriormost mesendodermal territories to become restricted to an adjacent subpopulation of dorsal endodermal precursors. Ectopic misexpressions of wild-type and mutant forms of her5 reveal that her5functions primarily within the endodermal/endmost mesendodermal germ layer to inhibit cell participation to the endmost-fated mesendoderm. In this process, her5 acts as an active transcriptional repressor. These features are strikingly reminiscent of the function of Drosophila Hairy/E(spl) factors in cell fate decisions. Our results provide the first model for vertebrate endoderm patterning where an early regulatory step at gastrulation, mediated by her5 controls cell contribution jointly to the anterior- and posteriormost mesendodermal regions.


eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander D Fulford ◽  
Maxine V Holder ◽  
David Frith ◽  
Ambrosius P Snijders ◽  
Nicolas Tapon ◽  
...  

Hippo signalling integrates diverse stimuli related to epithelial architecture to regulate tissue growth and cell fate decisions. The Hippo kinase cascade represses the growth-promoting transcription co-activator Yorkie. The FERM protein Expanded is one of the main upstream Hippo signalling regulators in Drosophila as it promotes Hippo kinase signalling and directly inhibits Yorkie. To fulfil its function, Expanded is recruited to the plasma membrane by the polarity protein Crumbs. However, Crumbs-mediated recruitment also promotes Expanded turnover via a phosphodegron-mediated interaction with a Slimb/β-TrCP SCF E3 ligase complex. Here, we show that the Casein Kinase 1 (CKI) family is required for Expanded phosphorylation. CKI expression promotes Expanded phosphorylation and interaction with Slimb/β-TrCP. Conversely, CKI depletion in S2 cells impairs Expanded degradation downstream of Crumbs. In wing imaginal discs, CKI loss leads to elevated Expanded and Crumbs levels. Thus, phospho-dependent Expanded turnover ensures a tight coupling of Hippo pathway activity to epithelial architecture.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 204589401876739 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Zhong ◽  
Yulia Komarova ◽  
Jalees Rehman ◽  
Asrar B. Malik

Piezo channels are deemed to constitute one of the most important family of mechanosensing ion channels since their discovery in 2010. With recent advances in identifying their topological structure and the discovery of the agonist Yoda1 as well as the specific inhibitor GsMTx4, it is now possible to study the mechanisms by which Piezo channels are involved in physiological and pathophysiological processes. During embryonic cardiovascular development, Piezo1 senses shear stress and promotes vasculature growth. In adult mice, Piezo1 mediates the release of nitric oxide and ATP from endothelial cells to regulate blood pressure. Piezo channels also play a crucial role in cell differentiation and tissue homeostasis by exquisite mechanical force sensing. Piezo channels are also abundantly expressed in lung tissues. As the lung is exposed to complex pulmonary hemodynamics and respiratory mechanics, cells in the lung, such as microvascular endothelial cells, bear mechanical forces from blood flow shear, pulsatile strain, static pressure, and cyclic stretch due to respiratory movement. These mechanical stimuli are involved in a serial of physiological function and pathophysiological processes of the lung, many of which Piezo channels may be the key player. Mutation of genes encoding Piezo channels are also associated with hereditary human diseases, thus highlighting the critical role of Piezo channels in both tissue homeostasis and disease.


1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Francke ◽  
Michelle K. Elfervig ◽  
Ajay Sood ◽  
Thomas D. Brown ◽  
Donald K. Bynum ◽  
...  

Abstract Tendon cells reside in an environment rich in mechanical stimuli and respond to these stimuli with a variety of activities. Whole tendon, ex vivo, responds to cyclic stretch by increasing DNA and collagen synthesis (Banes et al., 1999). Cultured epitenon and internal cells from tendon respond synergistically to cyclic tensile strain and a growth factor (Banes et al., 1995). Tendon cells stimulated by plasma membrane indentation with a micropipet propagate intercellular calcium waves to neighboring cells via gap junctions (Kenamond et al., 1997). Tendon cells subjected to equibiaxial cyclic stretching signal with a transient rise in intracellular calcium (Kenamond et al., 1998). Recently, it has been shown that connective tissue cells are responsive to fluid-induced shear stress similar to cells of the vascular system. Moreover, Brown and coworkers have shown that apparati used to apply substrate tension to cultured cells have limitations that include a potentially confounding component of fluid-induced shear stress (Brown et al., 1998). Hence, there is a concern that a given cell response to substrate stretching may actually involve a response to shear stress or some combination of the two stimuli. We have designed a parallel plate, laminar flow apparatus that provides regulated fluid-induced shear stress and subjected tendon cells to shear stresses of 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 dynes/cm2. This will enable us to make a direct comparison between fluid-induced shear stress and substrate deformation on tendon cell signaling and downstream gene responses.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph H.A. Vissers ◽  
Lucas G. Dent ◽  
Colin House ◽  
Shu Kondo ◽  
Kieran F. Harvey

ABSTRACTThe Hippo pathway is an evolutionary conserved signalling network that regulates organ size, cell fate control and tumorigenesis. In the context of organ size control, the pathway incorporates a large variety of cellular cues such as cell polarity and adhesion into an integrated transcriptional response. The central Hippo signalling effector is the transcriptional co-activator Yorkie, which controls gene expression in partnership with different transcription factors, most notably Scalloped. When it is not activated by Yorkie, Scalloped can act as a repressor of transcription, at least in part due to its interaction with the corepressor protein Tgi. The mechanism by which Tgi represses transcription is incompletely understood and therefore we sought to identify proteins that potentially operate together with it. Using an affinity purification and mass-spectrometry approach we identified Pits and CtBP as Tgi-interacting proteins, both of which have been linked to transcriptional repression. Both Pits and CtBP were required for Tgi to suppress the growth of the D. melanogaster eye and CtBP loss suppressed the undergrowth of yorkie mutant eye tissue. Furthermore, as reported previously for Tgi, overexpression of Pits suppressed transcription of Hippo pathway target genes. These findings suggest that Tgi might operate together with Pits and CtBP to repress transcription of genes that normally promote tissue growth. The human orthologues of Tgi, CtBP and Pits (VGLL4, CTBP2 and IRF2BP2) physically and functionally interact to control transcription, implying that the mechanism by which these proteins control transcriptional repression is conserved throughout evolution.


Genetics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 215 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-128
Author(s):  
Joseph H. A. Vissers ◽  
Lucas G. Dent ◽  
Colin M. House ◽  
Shu Kondo ◽  
Kieran F. Harvey

The Hippo pathway is an evolutionarily conserved signaling network that regulates organ size, cell fate, and tumorigenesis. In the context of organ size control, the pathway incorporates a large variety of cellular cues, such as cell polarity and adhesion, into an integrated transcriptional response. The central Hippo signaling effector is the transcriptional coactivator Yorkie, which controls gene expression in partnership with different transcription factors, most notably Scalloped. When it is not activated by Yorkie, Scalloped can act as a repressor of transcription, at least in part due to its interaction with the corepressor protein Tgi. The mechanism by which Tgi represses transcription is incompletely understood, and therefore we sought to identify proteins that potentially operate together with Tgi. Using an affinity purification and mass-spectrometry approach we identified Pits and CtBP as Tgi-interacting proteins, both of which have been linked to transcriptional repression. Both Pits and CtBP were required for Tgi to suppress the growth of the Drosophila melanogaster eye and CtBP loss suppressed the undergrowth of yorkie mutant eye tissue. Furthermore, as reported previously for Tgi, overexpression of Pits repressed transcription of Hippo pathway target genes. These findings suggest that Tgi might operate together with Pits and CtBP to repress transcription of genes that normally promote tissue growth. The human orthologs of Tgi, CtBP, and Pits (VGLL4, CTBP2, and IRF2BP2) have previously been shown to physically and functionally interact to control transcription, implying that the mechanism by which these proteins control transcriptional repression is conserved throughout evolution.


2019 ◽  
pp. S375-S384 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Cruciani ◽  
G. Garroni ◽  
C. Ventura ◽  
A. Danani ◽  
A. Nečas ◽  
...  

Adult stem cells are undifferentiated elements able to self-renew or differentiate to maintain tissue integrity. Within this context, stem cells are able to divide in a symmetric fashion, feature characterising all the somatic cells, or in an asymmetric way, which leads daughter cells to different fates. It is worth highlighting that cell polarity have a critical role in regulating stem cell asymmetric division and the proper control of cell division depends on different proteins involved in cell development, differentiation and maintenance of tissue homeostasis. Moreover, the interaction between cells and the extracellular matrix are crucial in influencing cell behavior, included in terms of mechanical properties as cytoskeleton plasticity and remodelling, and membrane tension. Finally, the activation of specific transcriptional program and epigenetic modifications contributes to cell fate determination, through modulation of cellular signalling cascades. It is well known that physical and mechanical stimuli are able to influence biological systems, and in this context, the effects of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) have already shown a considerable role, even though there is a lack of knowledge and much remains to be done around this topic. In this review, we summarize the historical background of EMFs applications and the main molecular mechanism involved in cellular remodelling, with particular attention to cytoskeleton elasticity and cell polarity, required for driving stem cell behavior.


2020 ◽  
Vol 134 (17) ◽  
pp. 2399-2418
Author(s):  
Yoshito Yamashiro ◽  
Hiromi Yanagisawa

Abstract Blood vessels are constantly exposed to mechanical stimuli such as shear stress due to flow and pulsatile stretch. The extracellular matrix maintains the structural integrity of the vessel wall and coordinates with a dynamic mechanical environment to provide cues to initiate intracellular signaling pathway(s), thereby changing cellular behaviors and functions. However, the precise role of matrix–cell interactions involved in mechanotransduction during vascular homeostasis and disease development remains to be fully determined. In this review, we introduce hemodynamics forces in blood vessels and the initial sensors of mechanical stimuli, including cell–cell junctional molecules, G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), multiple ion channels, and a variety of small GTPases. We then highlight the molecular mechanotransduction events in the vessel wall triggered by laminar shear stress (LSS) and disturbed shear stress (DSS) on vascular endothelial cells (ECs), and cyclic stretch in ECs and vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs)—both of which activate several key transcription factors. Finally, we provide a recent overview of matrix–cell interactions and mechanotransduction centered on fibronectin in ECs and thrombospondin-1 in SMCs. The results of this review suggest that abnormal mechanical cues or altered responses to mechanical stimuli in EC and SMCs serve as the molecular basis of vascular diseases such as atherosclerosis, hypertension and aortic aneurysms. Collecting evidence and advancing knowledge on the mechanotransduction in the vessel wall can lead to a new direction of therapeutic interventions for vascular diseases.


2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (7) ◽  
pp. 1481-1484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Radu Mihail Mirica ◽  
Mihai Ionescu ◽  
Alexandra Mirica ◽  
Octav Ginghina ◽  
Razvan Iosifescu ◽  
...  

Obesity involves the growth of adipose tissue cells (adipocytes and preadipocytes), as well as microvascular endothelial cells. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are relevant ezymes for the modulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) and adipocyte and preadipocytes differentiation. They are elevated in obese patients, generating abnormal ECM metabolism.[1]. This article proposes a thorough study of literature with focus on the important roles of matrix metalloproteinases in the pathophysiology of obesity. The article represents a narrative review based on an English-language PubMed research of the medical literature regardind important aspects of the proposed aim. MMP-2 activity was signi�cantly higher than MMP-9, both activities were detectable. MMP-9 was strongly correlated with body weight parameters before surgery, as well as after significant body weight reduction as a result of bariatric surgery. Concerning MMP-2 and MMP-9 they are also involved in the turnover of basement membranes both those of adipose tissue and endothelial. MMP-9 levels were moderately correlated with HDL cholesterol levels. Taken together, the present data suggest that changes in ECM through MMP-mediated degradation might play a critical role in the adipocyte differentiation process. These findings are detected both in clinical trials and in laboratory animal experiments. It is then tempting to speculate that the adipocyte-derived MMPs might represent a new pharmacological target for the inhibition of adipose tissue growth by inhibiting adipose differentiation as well as angiogenic process.


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