Open AccessMST4 kinase suppresses gastric tumorigenesis by limiting YAP activation via a non-canonical pathway
Author(s) -
Liwei An,
Pingping Nie,
Min Chen,
Yang Tang,
Hui Zhang,
Jingmin Guan,
Zhifa Cao,
ChunHan Hou,
Wenjia Wang,
Yun Zhao,
HongTao Xu,
Jianzhong Shi,
Zhaocai Zhou
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the journal of experimental medicine/the journal of experimental medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 8.483
H-Index - 448
eISSN - 1540-9538
pISSN - 0022-1007
DOI - 10.1084/jem.20191817
Subject(s) - hippo signaling pathway , hyperactivation , microbiology and biotechnology , phosphorylation , signal transduction , biology , carcinogenesis , kinase , cancer research , genetics , cancer
Hyperactivation of YAP has been commonly associated with tumorigenesis, and emerging evidence hints at multilayered Hippo-independent regulations of YAP. In this study, we identified a new MST4–YAP axis, which acts as a noncanonical Hippo signaling pathway that limits stress-induced YAP activation. MST4 kinase directly phosphorylated YAP at Thr83 to block its binding with importin α, therefore leading to YAP cytoplasmic retention and inactivation. Due to a consequential interplay between MST4-mediated YAP phospho-Thr83 signaling and the classical YAP phospho-Ser127 signaling, the phosphorylation level of YAP at Thr83 was correlated to that at Ser127. Mutation of T83E mimicking MST4-mediated alternative signaling restrained the activity of both wild-type YAP and its S127A mutant mimicking loss of classical Hippo signal. Depletion of MST4 in mice promoted gastric tumorigenesis with diminished Thr83 phosphorylation and hyperactivation of YAP. Moreover, loss of MST4–YAP signaling was associated with poor prognosis of human gastric cancer. Collectively, our study uncovered a noncanonical MST4–YAP signaling axis essential for suppressing gastric tumorigenesis.