Angiomotin binding-induced activation of Merlin/NF2 in the Hippo pathway

The tumor suppressor Merlin/NF2 functions upstream of the core Hippo pathway kinases Lats1/2 and Mst1/2, as well as the nuclear E3 ubiquitin ligase CRL4^DCAF1. Numerous mutations of Merlin have been identified in Neurofibromatosis type 2 and other cancer patients. Despite more than two decades of research, the upstream regulator of Merlin in the Hippo pathway remains unknown. Here we show by high-resolution crystal structures that the Lats1/2-binding site on the Merlin FERM domain is physically blocked by Merlin''s auto-inhibitory tail. Angiomotin binding releases the auto-inhibition and promotes Merlin''s binding to Lats1/2. Phosphorylation of Ser518 outside the Merlin''s auto-inhibitory tail does not obviously alter Merlin''s conformation, but instead prevents angiomotin from binding and thus inhibits Hippo pathway kinase activation. Cancer-causing mutations clustered in the angiomotin-binding domain impair angiomotin-mediated Merlin activation. Our findings reveal that angiomotin and Merlin respectively interface cortical actin filaments and core kinases in Hippo signaling, and allow construction of a complete Hippo signaling pathway.     

多效生长因子（Pleiotrophin）基因沉默后的基因表达谱初步分析

多效生长因子（pleiotrophin,PTN指蛋白,Ptn指基因）是一种可同肝素结合的分泌性的生长/分化因子,具有刺激细胞粘附、迁移、存活、生长和分化等功能.我们前期研究发现,Ptn稳定沉默可以显著降低细胞的生长及成瘤能力.为进一步了解Ptn表达沉默后小鼠基因转录谱的变化,用小鼠表达谱芯片比较了对照及Ptn沉默细胞的基因表达差异.在检测的24 000个基因中,Ptn沉默后上调2倍以上的基因有240个,下调2倍以上的基因有129个.值得引起注意的是,在Ptn沉默的MEFs细胞中,同DDK综合症相关的基因家族,schlafen（Slfn）家族的Slfn 2、Slfn 3、Slfn 4以及基质金属蛋白酶（matrix metalloproteinase,MMP）家族的Mmp 3、Mmp 10、Mmp 13表达均显著上调;而可促进内皮细胞运动,参与血管发生的基因angiomotin(Amot)表达显著下调.通过研究,获得了一系列Ptn沉默后表达变化的基因信息.     

Polarity complex proteins

The formation of functional epithelial tissues involves the coordinated action of several protein complexes, which together produce a cell polarity axis and develop cell-cell junctions. During the last decade, the notion of polarity complexes emerged as the result of genetic studies in which a set of genes was discovered first in Caenorhabditis elegans and then in Drosophila melanogaster. In epithelial cells, these complexes are responsible for the development of the apico-basal axis and for the construction and maintenance of apical junctions. In this review, we focus on apical polarity complexes, namely the PAR3/PAR6/aPKC complex and the CRUMBS/PALS1/PATJ complex, which are conserved between species and along with a lateral complex, the SCRIBBLE/DLG/LGL complex, are crucial to the formation of apical junctions such as tight junctions in mammalian epithelial cells. The exact mechanisms underlying their tight junction construction and maintenance activities are poorly understood, and it is proposed to focus in this review on establishing how these apical polarity complexes might regulate epithelial cell morphogenesis and functions. In particular, we will present the latest findings on how these complexes regulate epithelial homeostasis.