The Study on the Regulatory Mechanisms of Drosophila Midgut Homeostasis by Hippo Signaling

Abstract: The Hippo signaling is a recently discovered and a highly conserved pathway that regulates not only tissue growth and organ size， but also participates in the maintenance of stem cells. The Hippo pathway exhibits its function via balancing cell proliferation and apoptosis. Malfunction of the key components of Hippo signaling could lead to development of various diseases， including cancers. Therefore， one of our research focuses is to dissect the regulatory mechanisms of the protein stability of the Hippo pathway components. In our study， we found Pez， one of the upstream component of the Hippo pathway， is regulated by E3 ubiquitin ligase， suppressor of deltex [Su(dx)]， and Pez-binding protein， Kibra. Furthermore， we demonstrated the underlying molecular mechanisms of this regulation. We also showed that the regulation of Pez degradation is important for intestinal equilibrium by in vivo experiment in Drosophila. In addition， we proposed that this regulation might be a conserved process， based on the results obtained using mammalian cells. This study will not only improve our insight into the regulatory mechanisms of the Hippo pathway， but also shed some lights on identification of potential targets for therapeutic intervention and treatment of related cancers.

CSTR: 32200.14.cjcb.2015.05.0001