The hippo pathway effector Yap controls patterning and differentiation of airway epithelial progenitors.

ABSTRACT: How epithelial progenitor cells integrate local signals to balance expansion with differentiation during organogenesis is still little understood. Here, we provide evidence that the Hippo pathway effector Yap is a key regulator of this process in the developing lung. We show that when epithelial tubules are forming and branching, a nucleocytoplasmic shift in Yap localization marks the boundary between the airway and the distal lung compartments. At this transition zone, Yap specifies a transcriptional program that controls Sox2 expression and ultimately generates the airway epithelium. Without Yap, epithelial progenitors are unable to properly respond to local TGF-β-induced cues and control levels and distribution of Sox2 to form airways. Yap levels and subcellular localization also marked

SUBMITTER: Mahoney JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6331061 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature