The Hippo signaling pathway and stem cell biology.
Stem cell (SC) activity fluctuates throughout an organism's lifetime to maintain homeostatic conditions in all tissues. As animals develop and age, their organs must remodel and regenerate themselves in response to environmental and physiological demands. Recently, the highly conserved Hippo signaling pathway, discovered in Drosophila melanogaster, has been implicated as a key regulator of organ size control across species. Deregulation is associated with substantial overgrowth phenotypes and eventual onset of cancer in various tissues. Importantly, emerging evidence suggests that the Hippo pathway can modulate its effects on tissue size by the direct regulation of SC proliferation and maintenance. These findings provide an attractive model for how this pathway might communicate physiological needs for growth to tissue-specific SC pools. In this review, we summarize the current and emerging data linking Hippo signaling to SC function.
Stem Cell Program, Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Azucena
A
Ramos
Fernando D
FD
Camargo
D000818:Animals; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D000099317:Hippo Kinases
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; C499474:hpo protein, Drosophila; D000099317:Hippo Kinases