Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany; Department of Modeling of Biological Processes, COS Heidelberg/BioQuant, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
Liam Keegan
Department of Modeling of Biological Processes, COS Heidelberg/BioQuant, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
Paula Fernández-Palanca
Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany; Institute of Biomedicine (IBIOMED), University of León, León, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Department of Toxicology, Technical University Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany; Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt
Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Department of Toxicology, Technical University Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany; Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt
Jennifer Schmitt
Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
Yingyue Tang
Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
Maxime Le Marois
Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
Stephanie Roessler
Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
Peter Schirmacher
Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
Ursula Kummer
Department of Modeling of Biological Processes, COS Heidelberg/BioQuant, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
Jan G Hengstler
Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Department of Toxicology, Technical University Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany
The Hippo signaling pathway controls cell proliferation and tissue regeneration via its transcriptional effectors yes-associated protein (YAP) and transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ). The canonical pathway topology is characterized by sequential phosphorylation of kinases in the cytoplasm that defines the subcellular localization of YAP and TAZ. However, the molecular mechanisms controlling the nuclear/cytoplasmic shuttling dynamics of both factors under physiological and tissue-damaging conditions are poorly understood. By implementing experimental in vitro data, partial differential equation modeling, as well as automated image analysis, we demonstrate that nuclear phosphorylation contributes to differences between YAP and TAZ localization in the nucleus and cytoplasm. Treatment of hepatocyte-derived cells with hepatotoxic acetaminophen (APAP) induces a biphasic protein phosphorylation eventually leading to nuclear protein enrichment of YAP but not TAZ. APAP-dependent regulation of nuclear/cytoplasmic YAP shuttling is not an unspecific cellular response but relies on the sequential induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), RAC-alpha serine/threonine-protein kinase (AKT, synonym: protein kinase B), as well as elevated nuclear interaction between YAP and AKT. Mouse experiments confirm this sequence of events illustrated by the expression of ROS-, AKT-, and YAP-specific gene signatures upon APAP administration. In summary, our data illustrate the importance of nuclear processes in the regulation of Hippo pathway activity. YAP and TAZ exhibit different shuttling dynamics, which explains distinct cellular responses of both factors under physiological and tissue-damaging conditions.
