The kinesin protein Kif7 is a critical regulator of Gli transcription factors in mammalian hedgehog signaling

A mechanism for vertebrate Hedgehog signaling: recruitment to cilia and dissociation of SuFu-Gli protein complexes

Hedgehog signaling through the ciliary membrane protein Smoothened dissociates the Gli transcription factors from their inhibitor, Suppressor of Fused.

In vertebrates, Hedgehog (Hh) signaling initiated in primary cilia activates the membrane protein Smoothened (Smo) and leads to activation of Gli proteins, the transcriptional effectors of the pathway. In the absence of signaling, Gli proteins are inhibited by the cytoplasmic protein Suppressor of Fused (SuFu). It is unclear how Hh activates Gli and whether it directly regulates SuFu. We find that Hh stimulation quickly recruits endogenous SuFu–Gli complexes to cilia, suggesting a model in which Smo activates Gli by relieving inhibition by SuFu. In support of this model, we find that Hh causes rapid dissociation of the SuFu–Gli complex, thus allowing Gli to enter the nucleus and activate transcription. Activation of protein kinase A (PKA), an inhibitor of Hh signaling, blocks ciliary localization of SuFu–Gli complexes, which in turn prevents their dissociation by signaling. Our results support a simple mechanism in which Hh signals at vertebrate cilia cause dissociation of inactive SuFu–Gli complexes, a process inhibited by PKA.

Mutation of rice BC12/GDD1, which encodes a kinesin-like protein that binds to a GA biosynthesis gene promoter, leads to dwarfism with impaired cell elongation

The kinesins are a family of microtubule-based motor proteins that move directionally along microtubules and are involved in many crucial cellular processes, including cell elongation in plants. Less is known about kinesins directly regulating gene transcription to affect cellular physiological processes. Here, we describe a rice (Oryza sativa) mutant, gibberellin-deficient dwarf1 (gdd1), that has a phenotype of greatly reduced length of root, stems, spikes, and seeds. This reduced length is due to decreased cell elongation and can be rescued by exogenous gibberellic acid (GA₃) treatment. GDD1 was cloned by a map-based approach, was expressed constitutively, and was found to encode the kinesin-like protein BRITTLE CULM12 (BC12). Microtubule cosedimentation assays revealed that BC12/GDD1 bound to microtubules in an ATP-dependent manner. Whole-genome microarray analysis revealed the expression of ent-kaurene oxidase (KO2), which encodes an enzyme involved in GA biosynthesis, was downregulated in gdd1. Electrophoretic mobility shift and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays revealed that GDD1 bound to the element ACCAACTTGAA in the KO2 promoter. In addition, GDD1 was shown to have transactivation activity. The level of endogenous GAs was reduced in gdd1, and the reorganization of cortical microtubules was altered. Therefore, BC12/GDD1, a kinesin-like protein with transcription regulation activity, mediates cell elongation by regulating the GA biosynthesis pathway in rice.

The role of kinesin family proteins in tumorigenesis and progression: potential biomarkers and molecular targets for cancer therapy

The kinesin superfamily contains a conserved class of microtubule-dependent molecular motor proteins that possess an adenosine triphosphatase activity and motion characteristics. The active movement of kinesins supports several cellular functions, including mitosis, meiosis, and the transport of macromolecules. Mitosis is a process of eukaryotic cell division that involves the division of nuclei, cytoplasm, organelles, and the cell membrane into 2 daughter cells with roughly equivalent portions of these cellular components. Any errors in this process could result in cell death, abnormality (such as gene deletion, chromosome translocation, or duplication), and cancer. Because mitosis is complex and highly regulated, alteration of kinesin expression or function could lead to carcinogenesis. Moreover, because human cancer is a gene-related disease involving abnormal cell growth, targeting kinesins may create a novel strategy for the control of human cancer. Indeed, several such drugs are being tested successfully in the clinic. In this review, the authors discuss in detail the structure and function of kinesins, the correlation of kinesin expression with tumorigenesis and progression, and the development of biomarkers and cancer-targeted therapy involving the kinesin family proteins.

Clinical implications of hedgehog signaling pathway inhibitors

Hedgehog was first described in Drosophila melanogaster by the Nobel laureates Eric Wieschaus and Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard. The hedgehog (Hh) pathway is a major regulator of cell differentiation, proliferation, tissue polarity, stem cell maintenance, and carcinogenesis. The first link of Hh signaling to cancer was established through studies of a rare familial disease, Gorlin syndrome, in 1996. Follow-up studies revealed activation of this pathway in basal cell carcinoma, medulloblastoma and, leukemia as well as in gastrointestinal, lung, ovarian, breast, and prostate cancer. Targeted inhibition of Hh signaling is now believed to be effective in the treatment and prevention of human cancer. The discovery and synthesis of specific inhibitors for this pathway are even more exciting. In this review, we summarize major advances in the understanding of Hh signaling pathway activation in human cancer, mouse models for studying Hh-mediated carcinogenesis, the roles of Hh signaling in tumor development and metastasis, antagonists for Hh signaling and their clinical implications.

Basal cell carcinoma and the carcinogenic role of aberrant Hedgehog signaling

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most frequent cancer in the white population and its incidence appears to be increasing worldwide. While the majority of BCCs arise sporadically, many cases are attributable to basal cell nevus syndrome, or Gorlin syndrome, an autosomal dominantly inherited disorder characterized by the occurrence of multiple BCCs and by extracutaneous tumors. Genetic studies on patients with basal cell nevus syndrome indicate deregulation of the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway in epidermal keratinocytes as the primary event in the pathogenesis of BCC. This article summarizes the recent progress in understanding Hh-dependent BCC tumorigenesis, as well as evidence for deregulation of other molecular pathways, primarily the Wnt developmental pathway. Understanding the molecular genetics of BCC development has provided new opportunities for molecular therapy of this cancer by targeting Hh and other signaling pathways.

Primer and interviews: Diverse connections between primary cilia and Hedgehog signaling

On the surface, the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway and primary cilia make strange bedfellows. Hh is a dynamic regulator of a myriad of developmental processes, ranging from spinal cord and limb patterning to lung branching morphogenesis. By contrast, immotile primary cilia were long considered ancestral holdovers with no known function. Considering the disparate perceptions of these two phenomena, the relatively recent discovery that there is a symbiotic-like relationship between Hh and cilia was unexpected. This primer covers the basics of primary cilia and Hh signaling, highlighting variations in ways they are connected across species, and also discusses the evolutionary implications of these findings. Roles of cilia in signal transduction are analyzed further in an interview with Søren T. Christensen, PhD, and Andrew S. Peterson, PhD, in the A Conversation With the Experts section.

The relationship between sonic Hedgehog signaling, cilia, and neural tube defects

The Hedgehog signaling pathway is essential for many aspects of normal embryonic development, including formation and patterning of the neural tube. Absence of the sonic hedgehog (shh) ligand is associated with the midline defect holoprosencephaly, whereas increased Shh signaling is associated with exencephaly and spina bifida. To complicate this apparently simple relationship, mutation of proteins required for function of cilia often leads to impaired Shh signaling and to disruption of neural tube closure. In this article, we review the literature on Shh pathway mutants and discuss the relationship between Shh signaling, cilia, and neural tube defects.

Mechanism and evolution of cytosolic Hedgehog signal transduction

Hedgehog (Hh) signaling is required for embryonic patterning and postnatal physiology in invertebrates and vertebrates. With the revelation that the primary cilium is crucial for mammalian Hh signaling, the prevailing view that Hh signal transduction mechanisms are conserved across species has been challenged. However, more recent progress on elucidating the function of core Hh pathway cytosolic regulators in Drosophila, zebrafish and mice has confirmed that the essential logic of Hh transduction is similar between species. Here, we review Hh signaling events at the membrane and in the cytosol, and focus on parallel and divergent functions of cytosolic Hh regulators in Drosophila and mammals.

The Hedgehog morphogen in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury

The developmental Hedgehog (Hh) protein family is known to be pivotal in many embryonic patterning events and the number of processes in which Hh plays an essential role is expanding persistently. Recently, it has become clear that the Hh pathway is not only active in the developing embryo but also in the adult organism. For example, Hh has been suggested to salvage ischemia-induced tissue damage although endogenous Hh might be deleterious during the early phase of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion. The current review provides an overview of the history of Hh biology and discusses some novel insights on Hh cell biology. Hh function in pathophysiology as well as recent findings concerning Hh signaling in ischemia models, especially in light of cardiovascular disease, is discussed in more detail and future perspectives are proposed.

The primary cilium: a signalling centre during vertebrate development

The primary cilium has recently stepped into the spotlight, as a flood of data show that this organelle has crucial roles in vertebrate development and human genetic diseases. Cilia are required for the response to developmental signals, and evidence is accumulating that the primary cilium is specialized for hedgehog signal transduction. The formation of cilia, in turn, is regulated by other signalling pathways, possibly including the planar cell polarity pathway. The cilium therefore represents a nexus for signalling pathways during development. The connections between cilia and developmental signalling have begun to clarify the basis of human diseases associated with ciliary dysfunction.

Gli2a protein localization reveals a role for Iguana/DZIP1 in primary ciliogenesis and a dependence of Hedgehog signal transduction on primary cilia in the zebrafish

BACKGROUND

In mammalian cells, the integrity of the primary cilium is critical for proper regulation of the Hedgehog (Hh) signal transduction pathway. Whether or not this dependence on the primary cilium is a universal feature of vertebrate Hedgehog signalling has remained contentious due, in part, to the apparent divergence of the intracellular transduction pathway between mammals and teleost fish.

RESULTS

Here, using a functional Gli2-GFP fusion protein, we show that, as in mammals, the Gli2 transcription factor localizes to the primary cilia of cells in the zebrafish embryo and that this localization is modulated by the activity of the Hh pathway. Moreover, we show that the Igu/DZIP1protein, previously implicated in the modulation of Gli activity in zebrafish, also localizes to the primary cilium and is required for its proper formation.

CONCLUSION

Our findings demonstrate a conserved role of the primary cilium in mediating Hedgehog signalling activity across the vertebrate phylum and validate the use of the zebrafish as a representative model for the in vivo analysis of vertebrate Hedgehog signalling.

Hedgehog signaling and gastrointestinal cancer

Hedgehog (Hh) signaling is critical for embryonic development and in differentiation, proliferation, and maintenance of multiple adult tissues. De-regulation of the Hh pathway is associated with birth defects and cancer. In the gastrointestinal tract, Hh ligands Sonic (Shh) and Indian (Ihh), as well as the receptor Patched (Ptch1), and transcription factors of Glioblastoma family (Gli) are all expressed during development. In the adult, Shh expression is restricted to the stomach and colon, while Ihh expression occurs throughout the luminal gastrointestinal tract, its expression being highest in the proximal duodenum. Several studies have demonstrated a requirement for Hh signaling during gastrointestinal tract development. However to date, the specific role of the Hh pathway in the adult stomach and intestine is not completely understood. The current review will place into context the implications of recent published data related to the biochemistry and cell biology of Hh signaling on the luminal gastrointestinal tract during development, normal physiology and subsequently carcinogenesis.

Evaluating Smoothened as a G-protein-coupled receptor for Hedgehog signalling

The Hedgehog signalling pathway controls numerous developmental processes. In response to Hedgehog, Smoothened (Smo), a seven-pass transmembrane protein, orchestrates pathway signalling and controls transcription factor activation. In the absence of Hedgehog, the receptor Patched indirectly inhibits Smo in a catalytic manner. Many questions surrounding Smo activation and signalling remain. Recent findings in Drosophila and vertebrate systems have provided strong evidence that Smo acts as a G-protein-coupled receptor. We discuss the role and regulation of Smo and reassess similarities between Smo and G-protein-coupled receptors. We also examine recently identified members of the invertebrate and vertebrate Smo signalling cascades that are typical components of G-protein-coupled receptor pathways. Greater understanding of the mechanisms of Smo activation and its signalling pathways will allow implementation of novel strategies to target disorders related to disruption of Hh signalling.

Hedgehog signalling: Kif7 is not that fishy after all

Recent reports examining the mammalian kinesin relative Kif7 highlight the conserved role for microtubule motor proteins in Drosophila and vertebrate Hedgehog signalling. Mammalian Kif7 action centres at the primary cilium, an organelle absent from Drosophila. These studies raise interesting questions about the coupling of microtubule trafficking to the Hedgehog pathway.

Context-dependent regulation of the GLI code in cancer by HEDGEHOG and non-HEDGEHOG signals

A surprisingly large and unrelated number of human tumors depend on sustained HEDGEHOG-GLI (HH-GLI) signaling for growth. This includes cancers of the skin, brain, colon, lungs, prostate, blood and pancreas among others. The basis of such commonality is not obvious. HH-GLI signaling has also been shown to be active in and required for cancer stem cell survival and expansion in different cancer types, and its activity is essential not only for tumor growth but also for recurrence and metastatic growth, two key medical problems. Here we review recent data on the role of HH-GLI signaling in cancer focusing on the role of the GLI code, the regulated combinatorial and cooperative function of repressive and activating forms of all Gli transcription factors, as a signaling nexus that integrates not only HH signals but also those of multiple tumor suppressors and oncogenes. Recent data support the view that the context-dependent regulation of the GLI code by oncogenes and tumor suppressors constitutes a basis for the widespread involvement of GLI1 in human cancers, representing a perversion of its normal role in the control of stem cell lineages during normal development and homeostasis.

The primary cilium as a Hedgehog signal transduction machine

The Hedgehog (Hh) signal transduction pathway is essential for the development and patterning of numerous organ systems, and has important roles in a variety of human cancers. Genetic screens for mouse embryonic patterning mutants first showed a connection between mammalian Hh signaling and intraflagellar transport (IFT), a process required for construction of the primary cilium, a small cellular projection found on most vertebrate cells. Additional genetic and cell biological studies have provided very strong evidence that mammalian Hh signaling depends on the primary cilium. Here, we review the evidence that defines the integral roles that IFT proteins and cilia play in the regulation of the Hh signal transduction pathway in vertebrates. We discuss the mechanisms that control localization of Hh pathway proteins to the cilium, focusing on the transmembrane protein Smoothened (Smo), which moves into the cilium in response to Hh ligand. The phenotypes caused by loss of cilia-associated proteins are complex, which suggests that cilia and IFT play active roles in mediating Hh signaling rather than serving simply as a compartment in which pathway components are concentrated. Hh signaling in Drosophila does not depend on cilia, but there appear to be ancient links between cilia and components of the Hh pathway that may reveal how this fundamental difference between the Drosophila and mammalian Hh pathways arose in evolution.

Activation of the hedgehog-signaling pathway in human cancer and the clinical implications

The hedgehog pathway, initially discovered by two Nobel laureates Drs E Wieschaus and C Nusslein-Volhard in Drosophila, is a major regulator for cell differentiation, tissue polarity and cell proliferation. Studies from many laboratories reveal activation of this pathway in a variety of human cancer, including basal cell carcinomas (BCCs), medulloblastomas, leukemia, gastrointestinal, lung, ovarian, breast and prostate cancers. It is thus believed that targeted inhibition of hedgehog signaling may be effective in treatment and prevention of human cancer. Even more exciting is the discovery and synthesis of specific signaling antagonists for the hedgehog pathway, which have significant clinical implications in novel cancer therapeutics. In this review, we will summarize major advances in the last 2 years in our understanding of hedgehog signaling activation in human cancer, interactions between hedgehog signaling and other pathways in carcinogenesis, potential antagonists for hedgehog signaling inhibition and their clinical implications for human cancer treatment.

Planarian Hh signaling regulates regeneration polarity and links Hh pathway evolution to cilia

The Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway plays multiple essential roles during metazoan development, homeostasis, and disease. Although core protein components are highly conserved, the variations in Hh signal transduction mechanisms exhibited by existing model systems (Drosophila, fish, and mammals) are difficult to understand. We characterized the Hh pathway in planarians. Hh signaling is essential for establishing the anterior/posterior axis during regeneration by modulating wnt expression. Moreover, RNA interference methods to reduce signal transduction proteins Cos2/Kif27/Kif7, Fused, or Iguana do not result in detectable Hh signaling defects; however, these proteins are essential for planarian ciliogenesis. Our study expands the understanding of Hh signaling in the animal kingdom and suggests an ancestral mechanistic link between Hh signaling and the function of cilia.

Variations in Hedgehog signaling: divergence and perpetuation in Sufu regulation of Gli

The Hedgehog (Hh) proteins play a universal role in metazoan development. Nevertheless, fundamental differences exist between Drosophila and vertebrates in the transduction of the Hh signal, notably regarding the role of primary cilia in mammalian cells. In this issue of Genes & Development, Chen and colleagues (pp. 1910-1928) demonstrate that mouse Suppressor of fused (Sufu) regulates the stability of the transcription factors Gli2 and Gli3 by antagonizing the conserved Gli degradation device mediated by Hib/Spop in a cilia-independent manner.

Mouse Kif7/Costal2 is a cilia-associated protein that regulates Sonic hedgehog signaling

Mammalian Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling is essential for embryonic development and stem cell maintenance and has critical roles in tumorigenesis. Although core components of the Shh pathway are conserved in evolution, important aspects of mammalian Shh signaling are not shared with the Drosophila pathway. Perhaps the most dramatic difference between the Drosophila and mammalian pathways is that Shh signaling in the mouse requires a microtubule-based organelle, the primary cilium. Proteins that are required for the response to Shh are enriched in the cilium, but it is not clear why the cilium provides an appropriate venue for signal transduction. Here, we demonstrate that Kif7, a mammalian homologue of Drosophila Costal2 (Cos2), is a cilia-associated protein that regulates signaling from the membrane protein Smoothened (Smo) to Gli transcription factors. By using a Kif7 mutant allele identified in a reporter-based genetic screen, we show that, similar to Drosophila and zebrafish Cos2, mouse Kif7 acts downstream of Smo and upstream of Gli2 and has both negative and positive roles in Shh signal transduction. Mouse Kif7 activity depends on the presence of cilia and Kif7-eGFP localizes to base of the primary cilium in the absence of Shh. Activation of the Shh pathway promotes trafficking of Kif7-eGFP from the base to the tip of the cilium, and localization to the tip of the cilium is disrupted in a motor domain mutant. We conclude that Kif7 is a core regulator of Shh signaling that may also act as a ciliary motor.