The Hippo pathway regulates cell proliferation and cell death. It is activated by high cell density and cell stress to stop cell proliferation and induce apoptosis. The mammalian Hippo pathway comprises MST kinases and LATS kinases. When the Hippo pathway is activated, MST kinases phosphorylate LATS kinases, which phosphorylate transcriptional co-activators YAP and TAZ. Unphosphorylated YAP and TAZ remain in nucleus and interact with TEAD/TEF transcriptional factors to turn on cell cycle-promoting gene transcription. However, when phosphorylated, YAP and TAZ are recruited from the nucleus to the cytosol, so that the YAP and TAZ-dependent gene transcription is turned off. Dysfunction of the Hippo pathway is frequently detected in human cancer and its down-regulation correlates with the aggressive properties of cancer cells and poor prognosis.
The TEAD Luciferase Reporter Lentivirus are replication incompetent, HIV-based, VSV-G pseudotyped lentiviral particles that are ready to be transduced into almost all types of mammalian cells, including primary and non-dividing cells. The particles contain a firefly luciferase gene driven by the TEAD response elements located upstream of the minimal TATA promoter. After transduction, activation of the Hippo pathway in the target cells can be monitored by measuring the luciferase activity.