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REVIEW article

Front. Cell Dev. Biol.
Sec. Cancer Cell Biology
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcell.2025.1522705
This article is part of the Research Topic Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Cancer - Similarities and Differentiating Factors View all 4 articles

YAP/TAZ-associated cell signaling -At the crossroads of cancer and neurodevelopmental disorders

Provisionally accepted
Aderonke O. Ajongbolo Aderonke O. Ajongbolo 1,2Sigrid A Langhans Sigrid A Langhans 1*
  • 1 Nemours Children's Health, Wilmington, United States
  • 2 University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    YAP/TAZ (Yes-associated protein/paralog transcriptional co-activator with PDZ-binding domain) are transcriptional cofactors that are the key and major downstream effectors of the Hippo signaling pathway. Both are known to play a crucial role in defining cellular outcomes, including cell differentiation, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. Aside from the canonical Hippo signaling cascade with the key components MST1/2 (mammalian STE20-like kinase 1/2), SAV1 (Salvador homologue 1), MOB1A/B (Mps one binder kinase activator 1A/B) and LATS1/2 (large tumor suppressor kinase 1/2) upstream of YAP/TAZ, YAP/TAZ activation is also influenced by numerous other signaling pathways. Such non-canonical regulation of YAP/TAZ includes well-known growth factor signaling pathways such as the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)/ErbB family, Notch, and Wnt signaling as well as cell-cell adhesion, cell-matrix interactions and mechanical cues from a cell's microenvironment. This puts YAP/TAZ at the center of a complex signaling network capable of regulating developmental processes and tissue regeneration. On the other hand, dysregulation of YAP/TAZ signaling has been implicated in numerous diseases including various cancers and neurodevelopmental disorders. Indeed, in recent years, parallels between cancer development and neurodevelopmental disorders have become apparent with YAP/TAZ signaling being one of these pathways. This review discusses the role of YAP/TAZ in brain development, cancer and neurodevelopmental disorders with a special focus on the interconnection in the role of YAP/TAZ in these different conditions.

    Keywords: Hippo, Brain, Cancer, neurodevelopmental disorder, microenvironment, YAP/TAZ signaling

    Received: 04 Nov 2024; Accepted: 09 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Ajongbolo and Langhans. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Sigrid A Langhans, Nemours Children's Health, Wilmington, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.