Hippo signaling modulation and its biological implications in urological malignancies

• Published in: Molecular aspects of medicine Vol. 98; p. 101280
• Main Authors: Tong, Tongyu, Huang, Mengjun, Yan, Binyuan, Lin, Bingbiao, Yu, Jiaying, Teng, Qiliang, Li, Peng, Pang, Jun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.08.2024
• Subjects: Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing - metabolism; Animals; Bladder cancer; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Hippo signaling; Hippo Signaling Pathway; Humans; Kidney cancer; Male; Prostate cancer; Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases - metabolism; Signal Transduction; Transcription Factors - metabolism; Transcriptional Coactivator with PDZ-Binding Motif Proteins - metabolism; Transcriptional regulation; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms - genetics; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms - metabolism; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms - pathology; Urologic Neoplasms - etiology; Urologic Neoplasms - metabolism; Urologic Neoplasms - pathology; YAP-Signaling Proteins - metabolism; Hippo signaling; Transcriptional regulation; Prostate cancer; Bladder cancer; Kidney cancer
• ISSN: 0098-2997; 1872-9452; 1872-9452
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mam.2024.101280

Although cancer diagnosis and treatment have rapidly advanced in recent decades, urological malignancies, which have high morbidity and mortality rates, are among the most difficult diseases to treat. The Hippo signaling is an evolutionarily conserved pathway in organ size control and tissue homeostasis maintenance. Its downstream effectors, Yes-associated protein (YAP) and transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ), are key modulators of numerous physiological and pathological processes. Recent work clearly indicates that Hippo signaling is frequently altered in human urological malignancies. In this review, we discuss the disparate viewpoints on the upstream regulators of YAP/TAZ and their downstream targets and systematically summarize the biological implications. More importantly, we highlight the molecular mechanisms involved in Hippo-YAP signaling to improve our understanding of its role in every stage of prostate cancer, bladder cancer and kidney cancer progression. A better understanding of the biological outcomes of YAP/TAZ modulation will contribute to the establishment of future therapeutic approaches.