Open Access

REVIEW

The roles and regulation of Yes-associated protein 1 in stem cells

QING YIN¹, CAIHONG LIU¹, WENYING JIANG¹, HAIHUI GONG¹, CHUNYUN LI^1,2,3,*, ZUPING HE^1,2,3,*

1 Hunan Normal University School of Medicine, Changsha, 410013, China
2 The Key Laboratory of Model Animals and Stem Cell Biology in Hunan Province, Changsha, 410013, China
3 The Manufacture-Based Learning Research Demonstration Center for Human Reproductive Health New Technology of Hunan Normal University, Changsha, 410013, China

* Corresponding Authors: CHUNYUN LI. Email: ; ZUPING HE. Email:

BIOCELL 2023, 47(1), 33-39. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2023.023567

Received 03 May 2022; Accepted 19 July 2022; Issue published 26 September 2022

Abstract

Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1) is a downstream effector of the Hippo signaling pathway, and it is involved in tumorigenesis, tissue repair, growth, and development. In this review, the biological roles and the mechanisms of YAP1 in mediating stem cell fate decisions are discussed, including cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. In general, YAP1 promotes the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells, including embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. It inhibits apoptosis by binding to the transcription factors, e.g., transcriptional enhanced associate domain (TEAD), Smad, runt-related transcription factor 1/2, p73, p63, and Erb84, to maintain tissue homeostasis. The translocalization of YAP1 in cellular nuclei and the phosphorylation in the cytoplasm work as important and unusual events for the activation of YAP1. Moreover, YAP1 serves as the crosstalk for the Hippo pathway and other signaling pathways, including the Wnt and Notch pathways. It is highlighted in this review that YAP1 is an essential regulator for stem cells that have significant applications in regenerative medicine and reproductive medicine.

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Keywords

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