Project description:The Hippo pathway effectors yes-associated protein (YAP) and WW domain containing transcription regulator 1 (TAZ/WWTR1) support tumor initiation and progression in various cancer entities including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, to which extent YAP and TAZ contribute to liver tumorigenesis via common and exclusive molecular mechanisms is poorly understood. RNAinterference (RNAi) experiments illustrate that YAP and TAZ individually support HCC cell viability and migration, while for invasion additive effects were observed. Comprehensive expression profiling revealed partly overlapping YAP/TAZ target genes as well as exclusively regulated genes.
Project description:Cellular changes during an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) largely rely on global changes in gene expression orchestrated by transcription factors. Tead transcription factors and their co-factors Yap and Taz have been shown to be implicated in EMT, nevertheless, their direct target genes during EMT have remained elusive.We used genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation and next generation sequencing to identify diect Tead2 target genes during EMT. Py2T cells (murine breast cancer cell line) were treated with TGFβ for 5 days and subjected to ChIP using an antibody for Tead2 followed by next generation sequencing (Illumina HiSeq 2000; n=2)
Project description:Promoting rumen development is closely related to the health and efficient growth of ruminants. In the present study, we aimed to assess the impact of YAP1/TAZ on RE proliferation. The transcriptomic expression was analyzed to investigate the potential regulatory networks. The results indicated that GA promoted RE cell proliferation, while VP disrupted RE cell proliferation. The Hippo, Wnt, and calcium signaling pathways were altered in cells following the regulation of YAP1/TAZ. Upon YAP1/TAZ activation through GA, the CCN1/2 increased to promote RE cell proliferation. While when the YAP1/TAZ was inhibited by VP, the BIRC3 decreased to suppress RE cell proliferation. Thus, YAP1/TAZ may be potential targets for regulating RE cell proliferation. These findings broaden our understanding of the role of YAP1/TAZ and their regulators in RE and offer a potential target for promoting rumen development.
Project description:Cellular changes during an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) largely rely on global changes in gene expression orchestrated by transcription factors. Tead transcription factors and their co-factors Yap and Taz have been shown to be implicated in EMT, nevertheless, their direct and indirect target genes during EMT have remained elusive. We used microarrays to detail the changes in global programme of gene expression during TGFβ-induced EMT in a murine breast cancer cell line (Py2T). We compared expression profiles of treated Py2T breast cancer cell lines (5 days of TGFβ treatment 2ng/ml) to profiles of untreated cells, we used 2 biological replicates for each condition.
Project description:Background & Aims: Succinate dehydrogenase enzyme (SDH) is frequently found to be diminished in Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patient samples, and SDH reduction is associated with elevated succinate level and poor prognosis in HCC patients. But the underlying mechanisms about how impaired SDH activity promotes HCC malignancy remain unclear. Approach & Results: In this study, we observed remarkable downregulations of SDH subunits A and B (SDHA/B) in chronic liver injury-induced murine HCC models and HCC patient samples. Subsequent RNA sequencing, hematoxylin & eosin (H&E) staining and immunohistochemistry (IHC) analyses of HCC samples revealed that Yes-associated protein (YAP) and transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) were significantly upregulated in HCC, with their levels inversely correlating with that of SDHA/B. The protein stability of YAP/TAZ was greatly enhanced in SDHA/B-depleted HCC cells along with accumulation of succinate. Further mechanistic analyses demonstrated that impaired activity of SDHA/B resulted in succinate accumulation which facilitated the removal of NEDDylation on cullin1, therefore disrupted the E3 ubiquitin ligase SCFβ-TrCP complex, consequently led to YAP/TAZ stabilization and activation in HCC cells. The accelerated in vitro cell proliferation and in vivo tumor growth caused by SDHA/B reduction or succinate exposure were largely dependent on the aberrant activation of YAP/TAZ. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that SDHA/B reduction promotes HCC proliferation by preventing the proteasomal degradation of YAP/TAZ through modulating cullin1 NEDDylation, thus addicts SDH-deficient HCC cells to YAP/TAZ pathway and renders these cells vulnerable to YAP/TAZ inhibition. Our findings warrant further investigation on the therapeutic effects of targeting YAP/TAZ in HCC patients displaying reduced SDHA/B or elevated succinate levels.
Project description:Cellular changes during an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) largely rely on global changes in gene expression orchestrated by transcription factors. Tead transcription factors and their co-factors Yap and Taz have been shown to be implicated in EMT, nevertheless, their direct target genes during EMT have remained elusive.We used genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation and next generation sequencing to identify diect Tead2 target genes during EMT.
Project description:The Hippo pathway plays important roles in organ development, tissue homeostasis, and tumor growth, and its downstream effector TAZ is a transcriptional coactivator that promotes target gene expression through the formation of biomolecular condensates. However, the mechanisms that regulate the biophysical properties of TAZ condensates to enable Hippo signaling are not well understood. Here, using chemical cross-linking combined with an unbiased proteomic approach, we show that FUS associates with TAZ condensates and exerts a chaperone-like effect to maintain their proper liquidity and robust- transcriptional activity. Mechanistically, the low complexity sequence domain of FUS targets the coiled-coil domain of TAZ in a phosphorylation-regulated manner, which ensures the liquidity and dynamicity of TAZ condensates. In cells lacking FUS, TAZ condensates transition into gel/solid-like assembles with immobilized TAZ, leading to reduced expression of target genes and inhibition of pro-tumorigenic activity. Thus, our findings identify a chaperone-like function of FUS in Hippo regulation and demonstrate that appropriate biophysical properties of transcriptional condensates are essential for gene activation.
Project description:Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a formidable malignancy with limited effective therapeutic avenues. This study was designed to investigate the role of transglutaminase 2 (TGM2) in promoting HCC progression and assess its potential as a target for therapeutic intervention in HCC treatment.TMG2 expression was positively related to a higher AFP level, poor differentiation, and a later BCLC stage. Tgm2 deficiency or H3Q5ser inhibition notably restrained HCC progression. Mechanism research revealed that TGM2-mediated H3Q5ser modifications promote HCC progression via MYC pathway signaling. Furthermore, transcriptional intermediary factor 1 beta (TIF1-β/TRIM28) mediated the recruitment of TGM2 by MYC to facilitate H3Q5ser modifications on MYC targets. Finally, targeting the TGM2 transglutaminase activity significantly suppressed HCC progression in preclinical models.
Project description:Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a formidable malignancy with limited effective therapeutic avenues. This study was designed to investigate the role of transglutaminase 2 (TGM2) in promoting HCC progression and assess its potential as a target for therapeutic intervention in HCC treatment.TMG2 expression was positively related to a higher AFP level, poor differentiation, and a later BCLC stage. Tgm2 deficiency or H3Q5ser inhibition notably restrained HCC progression. Mechanism research revealed that TGM2-mediated H3Q5ser modifications promote HCC progression via MYC pathway signaling. Furthermore, transcriptional intermediary factor 1 beta (TIF1-β/TRIM28) mediated the recruitment of TGM2 by MYC to facilitate H3Q5ser modifications on MYC targets. Finally, targeting the TGM2 transglutaminase activity significantly suppressed HCC progression in preclinical models.