Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2015 Apr 10;116(8):1431-47.
doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.116.303311.

The hippo pathway in heart development, regeneration, and diseases

Affiliations
Review

The hippo pathway in heart development, regeneration, and diseases

Qi Zhou et al. Circ Res. .

Abstract

The heart is the first organ formed during mammalian development. A properly sized and functional heart is vital throughout the entire lifespan. Loss of cardiomyocytes because of injury or diseases leads to heart failure, which is a major cause of human morbidity and mortality. Unfortunately, regenerative potential of the adult heart is limited. The Hippo pathway is a recently identified signaling cascade that plays an evolutionarily conserved role in organ size control by inhibiting cell proliferation, promoting apoptosis, regulating fates of stem/progenitor cells, and in some circumstances, limiting cell size. Interestingly, research indicates a key role of this pathway in regulation of cardiomyocyte proliferation and heart size. Inactivation of the Hippo pathway or activation of its downstream effector, the Yes-associated protein transcription coactivator, improves cardiac regeneration. Several known upstream signals of the Hippo pathway such as mechanical stress, G-protein-coupled receptor signaling, and oxidative stress are known to play critical roles in cardiac physiology. In addition, Yes-associated protein has been shown to regulate cardiomyocyte fate through multiple transcriptional mechanisms. In this review, we summarize and discuss current findings on the roles and mechanisms of the Hippo pathway in heart development, injury, and regeneration.

Keywords: Yes-associated protein; cardiomegaly; stem cells.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. The mammalian Hippo pathway
Arrows or blunt ends indicate activation or inhibition, respectively. Dashed lines indicate unknown mechanisms. Abbreviations: AJ (Adherens Junctions), CK1δ/ε (casein kinase 1 δ/ε), DLG (Disks large homolog), KBR (Kibra), LGL (Lethal giant larvae protein homolog), Scrib (Protein scribble homolog), SCF (Skp, Cullin, F-box containing complex), β-TRCP (β-Transducin repeat-containing protein), SWI/SNF (SWItch/Sucrose NonFermentable nucleosome remodeling complex), TJ (Tight Junctions), Ub (Ubiquitin), ZO-1 (Tight junction protein ZO-1, also called TJP1), α-CAT (α-Catenin).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Transcription effectors of the Hippo pathway in regulation of cardiac physiology. YAP/TAZ transcription factor partners in cardiomyocytes and their downstream target genes are shown. The Hippo pathway likely regulates cardiac physiology through a coordinated transcriptional program. Abbreviations: DVL (Dishevelled), p300 (E1A binding protein p300), pCAF (p300/CBP-associated factor, KAT2B), TCF/LEF (Transcription factor/Lymphoid enhancer-binding factor).

References

    1. Stanger BZ. Organ size determination and the limits of regulation. Cell Cycle. 2008;7:318–324. - PubMed
    1. Xin M, Olson EN, Bassel-Duby R. Mending broken hearts: Cardiac development as a basis for adult heart regeneration and repair. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2013;14:529–541. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ahuja P, Sdek P, MacLellan WR. Cardiac myocyte cell cycle control in development, disease, and regeneration. Physiological reviews. 2007;87:521–544. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Maillet M, van Berlo JH, Molkentin JD. Molecular basis of physiological heart growth: Fundamental concepts and new players. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2013;14:38–48. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Li F, Wang X, Capasso JM, Gerdes AM. Rapid transition of cardiac myocytes from hyperplasia to hypertrophy during postnatal development. Journal of molecular and cellular cardiology. 1996;28:1737–1746. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms