Showing papers by "Philip A. Beachy published in 2015"

The role of ciliary trafficking in Hedgehog receptor signaling

Abstract: Defects in the biogenesis of or transport through primary cilia affect Hedgehog protein signaling, and many Hedgehog pathway components traffic through or accumulate in cilia. The Hedgehog receptor Patched negatively regulates the activity and ciliary accumulation of Smoothened, a seven-transmembrane protein that is essential for transducing the Hedgehog signal. We found that this negative regulation of Smoothened required the ciliary localization of Patched, as specified either by its own cytoplasmic tail or by provision of heterologous ciliary localization signals. Surprisingly, given that Hedgehog binding promotes the exit of Patched from the cilium, we observed that an altered form of Patched that is retained in the cilium nevertheless responded to Hedgehog, resulting in Smoothened activation. Our results indicate that whereas ciliary localization of Patched is essential for suppression of Smoothened activation, the primary event enabling Smoothened activation is binding of Hedgehog to Patched, and Patched ciliary removal is secondary.

Bifurcating action of Smoothened in Hedgehog signaling is mediated by Dlg5

Abstract: Binding of the Hedgehog (Hh) protein signal to its receptor, Patched, induces accumulation of the seven-pass transmembrane protein Smoothened (Smo) within the primary cilium and of the zinc finger transcription factor Gli2 at the ciliary tip, resulting ultimately in Gli-mediated changes in nuclear gene expression. However, the mechanism by which pathway activation is communicated from Smo to Gli2 is not known. In an effort to elucidate this mechanism, we identified Dlg5 (Discs large, homolog 5) in a biochemical screen for proteins that preferentially interact with activated Smo. We found that disruption of Smo-Dlg5 interactions or depletion of endogenous Dlg5 leads to diminished Hh pathway response without a significant impact on Smo ciliary accumulation. We also found that Dlg5 is localized at the basal body, where it associates with another pathway component, Kif7. We show that Dlg5 is required for Hh-induced enrichment of Kif7 and Gli2 at the tip of the cilium but is dispensable for Gpr161 exit from the cilium and the consequent suppression of Gli3 processing into its repressor form. Our findings suggest a bifurcation of Smo activity in Hh response, with a Dlg5-independent arm for suppression of Gli repressor formation and a second arm involving Smo interaction with Dlg5 for Gli activation.

A Comparison of Ci/Gli Activity as Regulated by Sufu in Drosophila and Mammalian Hedgehog Response.

Abstract: Suppressor of fused (Su(fu)/Sufu), one of the most conserved components of the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway, binds Ci/Gli transcription factors and impedes activation of target gene expression. In Drosophila, the Su(fu) mutation has a minimal phenotype, and we show here that Ci transcriptional activity in large part is regulated independently of Su(fu) by other pathway components. Mutant mice lacking Sufu in contrast show excessive pathway activity and die as embryos with patterning defects. Here we show that in cultured cells Hh stimulation can augment transcriptional activity of a Gli2 variant lacking Sufu interaction and, surprisingly, that regulation of Hh pathway targets is nearly normal in the neural tube of Sufu-/- mutant embryos that also lack Gli1 function. Some degree of Hh-induced transcriptional activation of Ci/Gli thus can occur independently of Sufu in both flies and mammals. We further note that Sufu loss can also reduce Hh induction of high-threshold neural tube fates, such as floor plate, suggesting a possible positive pathway role for Sufu.

Corrigendum: Identification of recurrent SMO and BRAF mutations in ameloblastomas

Abstract: Nat. Genet. 46, 722–725 (2014); published online 25 May 2014; corrected after print 12 November 2014 In the version of this article initially published, the introductory paragraph mistakenly stated that ameloblasts were “cells in the tooth roots of the upper (maxilla) and lower (mandible) jaw responsible for depositing enamel during tooth development (odontogenesis).