title: Tumor suppressor LATS1 is a negative regulator of oncogene YAP.
abstract: LATS (large tumor suppressor) or warts is a Ser/Thr kinase that belongs to the Ndr/LATS subfamily of AGC (protein kinase A/PKG/PKC) kinases. It is a tumor suppressor gene originally isolated from Drosophila and recently isolated from mice and humans. Drosophila or mice mutant for LATS develop tumors in various tissues. Recent studies in Drosophila demonstrate that LATS is a central player of an emerging tumor suppressor pathway called the Hippo-LATS/Warts pathway that suppresses tumor growth by regulating cell proliferation, cell growth, and cell death. Although tremendous progress has been made toward understanding the roles of LATS in tumorigenesis, the kinase substrates of LATS or downstream target proteins mediating LATS function remain largely unknown. In this study, we have provided convincing evidence that the LATS1 tumor suppressor can bind to and phosphorylate transcription regulator and oncogene YAP in vitro and in vivo. We have also identified HX(R/H/K)XX(S/T) as the consensus phosphorylation sequence for LATS/Ndr kinase substrates. Significantly, we have discovered that LATS1 inactivates YAP oncogenic function by suppressing its transcription regulation of cellular genes via sequestration of YAP in the cytoplasm after phosphorylation of YAP. Finally, by using microarray analysis, we have also identified many oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes up-regulated or down-regulated by YAP. These research findings will have profound impacts on our understanding of the molecular mechanism of the LATS tumor suppressor and the emerging Hippo-LATS/Warts pathway.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada.
authors.forename: Yawei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chun
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: Babak
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rashidi
authors.forename: Xiaolong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D021581:Active Transport, Cell Nucleus / Q000235:genetics; D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020816:Amino Acid Motifs / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004330:Drosophila; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000235:genetics; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D015513:Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010766:Phosphorylation; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000091102:YAP-Signaling Proteins; D000099317:Hippo Kinases
chemical_list: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D015513:Oncogene Proteins; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D014157:Transcription Factors; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; D000091102:YAP-Signaling Proteins; C435745:HEMGN protein, human; C456659:YY1AP1 protein, human; C486223:Yap1 protein, mouse; C092745:LATS1 protein, human; C490501:Lats1 protein, mouse; C499474:hpo protein, Drosophila; D000099317:Hippo Kinases