Hippo Pathways and Cancer

Question 1

what are the

two strands of hippo pathway research?

Answer 1

hippo tumour suppressor screens and hippo transcription factors and DNA motifs

Question 2

what is the Kibra protein?

Answer 2

in mammlian hippo pathway
upstream of the signalling cascade
cannot phosphorylate itself
scaffold protein

Question 3

what is shRNA knockdown?

Answer 3

used to manipulate the expressioin of a target protein (aka kibra)

Question 4

describe the knockdown and overexpression of kibra proteins?

Answer 4

knockdown induces EMT marker expression with leads to changes in LATS and YAP phosphorylation (overexpression)

overexpression modulares LATS and YAP phosphorylation (increases phosphorylation)

Question 5

what is neurofibromin 2 ?

Answer 5

NF2 or merlin

only hippo pathway gene that is inactive in cancer and so it represents a tumour suppressor gene

Question 6

what is an oncogene?

Answer 6

gene that has some genetic damage and produces a protein that is capable of cellular transformation

Question 7

what is a tumour suppressor gene?

Answer 7

any class of gene that act in normal cells to inhibit unrestrained cell division and that when inactivated place the cell at increased risk of malignancy

Question 8

what happens when cells are stretched by mechanical forces?

Answer 8

YAP activated

cells proliferate

Question 9

what happens when there is less e-cadherin at junctions because of mechanincal forces?

Answer 9

YAP activated

cells proliferate

Question 10

what happens when cells are compressed by mechanical forces?

Answer 10

cells extruted and undergo apoptosis