Targeting Yes-Associated Protein (YAP)/Transcriptional Coactivators with PDZ-Binding Motif (TAZ)-Transcriptional Enhanced Associate Domain (TEAD) for Cancer and Regenerative Medicine.
Jul 2026· Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology· pp. a041918· 0 citations
Medicine
TL;DR
The convergence of the Hippo signaling network with diverse oncogenic pathways places it at the center of tumorigenic adaptation, maintenance of stemness, and the development of drug resistance.
Abstract
The evolutionarily conserved Hippo signaling pathway is crucial for regulating organ size, tissue homeostasis, and regeneration. Mammalian Yes-associated protein (YAP)/transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) and its interaction with transcriptional enhanced associate domain 1-4 (TEAD1-4) are vital for transcriptional outputs linked to cell proliferation and apoptosis. Dysregulation of Hippo signaling is associated with various aspects of cancer biology. The convergence of the Hippo signaling network with diverse oncogenic pathways places it at the center of tumorigenic adaptation, maintenance of stemness, and the development of drug resistance. Modulating YAP/TAZ-TEAD signaling offers broad therapeutic potential, from cancer treatment to regenerative medicine. Several small-molecule TEAD inhibitors are at various stages of clinical development, with increasing efforts focused on monotherapy and combination therapies targeting YAP/TAZ hyperactivation caused by standard-of-care (SOC) drugs (best available disease-specific treatments used in clinics), particularly targeted therapies.
This review delineates the biological functions of the Hippo–YAP/TAZ–TEAD axis and integrate its pathway physiology with the structural basis of druggability, centered on the Ω‐loop surface pocket and the buried palmitoylation‐binding pocket of TEAD, whose distinct geometries dictate the pharmacophoric requirements, pa...
The human Hippo pathway restricts tissue growth primarily through mammalian Ste20-like kinase 1/2 (MST1/2) and large tumor suppressor 1/2 (LATS1/2)-mediated regulation of transcriptional activators Yes-associated protein (YAP)/transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ). When this brake is lifted, nuclear...
This review provides an updated overview of this transcriptional module within the Hippo pathway, discusses how it modulates gene transcription to contribute to development and disease, and proposes outstanding questions that warrant further investigation in future studies.
Xiao-Lei Cao, Mei Tang, Zezhen Lu et al.· Cold Spring Harbor Perspecti...· 0 citations
Transcriptional-enhanced associate (TEA)/transcriptional enhanced factor (TEF) domain transcription factors (TEAD1-4) regulate the transcriptional output of Hippo signaling by interacting with the coactivators Yes-associated protein (YAP) and transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) and play a crucial r...
Xu Wu, J. Mao· Cold Spring Harbor Perspecti...· 0 citations
The TEA domain transcription factors TEAD1 to TEAD4 integrate Hippo signaling with transcriptional programs that govern tissue homeostasis and cancer progression. Their activity is shaped by cofactor engagement, palmitoylation, chromatin organization and extracellular cues, creating therapeutic vulnerabilities that v...
Small-molecule NUAK inhibitors are in development, several of which have been shown to reactivate Hippo signaling, restore YAP/TAZ cytoplasmic retention, and suppress aberrant cancer cell proliferation and fibrosis.
Youchen Song, Liliana Attisano· Cold Spring Harbor Perspecti...· 0 citations
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