Mol. Cells 2018; 41(4): 257-263
Published online April 12, 2018
https://doi.org/10.14348/molcells.2018.0091
© The Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology
Correspondence to : *Correspondence: jinwookim@kaist.ac.kr
Vertebrate organ development is accompanied by demarcation of tissue compartments, which grow coordinately with their neighbors. Hence, perturbing the coordinative growth of neighboring tissue compartments frequently results in organ malformation. The growth of tissue compartments is regulated by multiple intercellular and intracellular signaling pathways, including the Hippo signaling pathway that limits the growth of various organs. In the optic neuroepithelial continuum, which is partitioned into the retina, retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and ciliary margin (CM) during eye development, the Hippo signaling activity operates differentially, as it does in many tissues. In this review, we summarize recent studies that have explored the relationship between the Hippo signaling pathway and growth of optic neuroepithelial compartments. We will focus particularly on the roles of a tumor suppressor, neurofibromin 2 (NF2), whose expression is not only dependent on compartment-specific transcription factors, but is also subject to regulation by a Hippo-Yap feedback signaling circuit.
Keywords ciliary margin, eye development, Hippo pathway, neurofibromin 2 (NF2), retina
Development of the organs and tissues that make up multicellular organism is mediated by a series of compartmentalizations from unspecified germ layers of the post-gastrula embryo. During the divergent development that gives rise distinct tissues with defined size and shape from a uniform germ layer continuum, each compartment maintains a unique growth rate relative to its neighboring compartments (Stanger, 2008). The growth of individual tissue compartments is mainly related to the proliferation of the cells that comprise that compartment, whereas intercellular communication mediated by various morphogens and growth factors is responsible for coordination of growth between neighboring tissue compartments. Therefore, both alterations in intrinsic growth rate within a compartment and perturbations in growth coordination between neighboring compartments cause tissue hypertrophy and hypotrophy, resulting in various developmental defects.
Vertebrate eyes have been employed to study intercellular and intracellular signaling pathways that specify the fates of optic compartments by inducing compartment-specific transcription factors and coordinate growth of neighboring compartments by regulating cell proliferation (Chow and Lang, 2001; Graw, 2010; Kim and Kim, 2012). The primordial eye field in the anterior neural plate is specified immediately after gastrulation to form the optic vesicle (OV), a neuroepithelial evagination of the ventral-lateral diencephalic area. The OV then invaginates to form a double-layered optic cup (OC), the inner and outer layers of which develop into the neural retina and the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), respectively. At the peripheral region of the OC, which forms the border between the retina and RPE, the ciliary margin (CM) is specified and develops further into the ciliary body (CB) and iris in the mature eye (Beebe, 1986; Fig. 1).
Each optic neuroepithelial compartment has discrete growth and proliferation features (Chow and Lang, 2001; Graw, 2010; Kim and Kim, 2012). The retina has greater proliferative potential than the other two compartments by virtue of the presence of retinal progenitor cells (RPCs), which are capable of dividing repeatedly and generating retinal neurons and Müller glia on distinct developmental schedules. In contrast, the RPE consists of post-mitotic epithelial cells that establish a monolayer structure that enwraps the retina (Fuhrmann et al., 2014). Cells in the embryonic CM and post-natal CB maintain their proliferative potential even as cells in the retina stop proliferating, albeit at a lower rate than retinal cells (Napier and Kidson, 2005; Fig. 2). Proliferating cells in the CM can also be specified to RPCs in the peripheral retina, although the retinal stem cell property of these cells in the mammalian eye remains a matter of debate (Belanger et al., 2017; Cicero et al., 2009; Marcucci et al., 2016; Ohta et al., 2008; Tropepe et al., 2000). Therefore, not only the CB and iris, which arise from the CM domain, but also the retina, fail to grow to normal size when CM cell proliferation is impaired. Defects in CM/CB cell proliferation, therefore, often manifest as microphthalmia.
Multiple signaling pathways that influence the specification and growth of the CM and CB have been identified (Fig. 2). Wnt signaling activity, as determined by Tcf7l1-dependent reporter gene expression, is concentrated in the CM area, particularly in the outer CM layer (Fuhrmann et al., 2009; Liu et al., 2003). Inactivation of Wnt signaling by deletion of β-catenin (βCtn) results in transformation of the CM and RPE into the retina as a result of failure to specify and/or maintain the CM and RPE (Fujimura et al., 2009; Westenskow et al., 2009). Conversely, constitutive activation of Wnt-βCtn signaling leads to expansion of the CM domain into retinal territory (Cho and Cepko, 2006; Liu et al., 2007). These observations therefore suggest that active Wnt-βCtn signaling is necessary to maintain CM fate, whereas normal eye development requires that Wnt signaling be inhibited in central OC regions (i.e., the retina and RPE).
In addition to Wnts, autocrine bone morphogenic factors (BMPs) are also necessary for development of the CB. Unlike Wnts, which maintain CM identity in the embryo, BMPs mainly act to induce CB folds in the post-natal eyes. Support for this, a haplodeficiency of
Sonic hedgehog (Shh) is secreted by retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), the first-born retinal neuron subtype, and can diffuse to act on CM cells, while it induces RPC proliferation in the retina (Wang et al., 2005). However, the mitogenic effects of Shh cannot reach the CM because Shh is captured and endocytosed by low-density lipoprotein-related protein 2 (Lrp2) in CM cells (Christ et al., 2015). Collectively, these intercellular signaling pathways coordinately regulate the proliferation (positively by Wnt and Notch, but negatively by Lrp2) and morphogenesis (positively by BMP) of CM/CB during eye development. However, given the shared, but graded, characteristics of the retina, CM/CB and RPE in terms of proliferation, differentiation and stiffness, additional determinants that are commonly displayed, but to different degrees, in all compartments should be present to allow differentiation of these characteristics. However, given the shared characteristics of the retina, CM/CB and RPE, in terms of proliferation, differentiation and stiffness, additional determinants that are commonly displayed, but to different degrees, in all compartments should be present to allow differentiation of these characteristics.
The Hippo signaling pathway was originally identified in
Hippo signaling is activated by contact-dependent signals. Thus, many upstream regulators of Hippo signaling pathway, including Expanded (Ex), Merlin (Mer) and Kibra, are commonly involved in polarization and adhesion of the epithelium. In
Neurofibromin 2 (NF2), also known as schwannomin, is a mammalian homolog of
NF2 activates the Hippo signaling pathway at multiple levels. First, NF2 initiates Hippo signaling via MST kinases (Hamaratoglu et al., 2006). Specifically, NF2 recruits MST1/2 to form an MST–SAV complex, which phosphorylates LATS. Second, at AJs, NF2 activates LATS independently of MST by associating with α-catenin and AMOT, which recruits LATS kinases (Li et al., 2015). Last, NF2 inhibits the E3 ubiquitin ligase CRL4-DCAF1 to inhibit CRL4-DCAF1-mediated ubiquitination of LATS kinases (Li et al., 2010).
YAP/TAZ (YAP and TAZ) is expressed in all optic neuroepithelial compartments; however, its importance varies according to tissue type. In zebrafish, germ-line knockout of
In mouse eye development,
Recently, we reported that the NF2-Hippo pathway limits the growth capacity of the RPE and CM in the developing eye (Moon et al., 2018). Loss of
NF2 has been amply demonstrated to exert an anti-proliferative function in various progenitor populations and is known to mediate the Hippo pathway (Lavado et al., 2013; Serinagaoglu et al., 2015; Zhang et al., 2010). Thus, the differential expression of
In the other two optic neuroepithelial compartments—RPE and retina—the two compartment-specific transcription factors Mitf and Sox2 are suggested to control
The functions of YAP/TAZ in stem cell maintenance have been described in various experimental systems (Barry et al., 2013; Lian et al., 2010; Ohgushi et al., 2015). The mammalian CM has been shown to give rise to the cells in the peripheral retina and ciliary epithelial progeny in the CB and iris, at least during embryonic and perinatal periods of eye development (Belanger et al., 2017; Marcucci et al., 2016). Mouse CM cells express Yap/Taz at higher levels compared with the moderate Yap/Taz expression in early RPCs, suggesting that high Yap/Taz activity is required for maintaining the stemness and bipotency of CM progenitors and the antagonistic activity of the Hippo pathway toward them. In support of this, nascent RPCs derived from
Hippo signaling activity is tightly regulated during eye development such that dysregulation of Hippo signaling activity leads to severe ocular lesions owing to defects in the coordination of optic tissue growth. Recent studies have revealed that NF2, an upstream regulator of the Hippo signaling pathway, plays a crucial in eye development by differentiating the growth profile of the optic neuroepithelium, establishing the epithelial rigidity of the RPE/CM population, and maintaining proper Yap/Taz activity during the transition of CM-derived, nascent RPCs. Further research is required to reveal how the NF2-Hippo-Yap singling pathway is integrated with the multiple regulatory networks that control the eye development, including Wnt/β-catenin, BMP, and Notch pathways.
Mol. Cells 2018; 41(4): 257-263
Published online April 30, 2018 https://doi.org/10.14348/molcells.2018.0091
Copyright © The Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology.
Kyeong Hwan Moon, and Jin Woo Kim*
Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Korea
Correspondence to:*Correspondence: jinwookim@kaist.ac.kr
Vertebrate organ development is accompanied by demarcation of tissue compartments, which grow coordinately with their neighbors. Hence, perturbing the coordinative growth of neighboring tissue compartments frequently results in organ malformation. The growth of tissue compartments is regulated by multiple intercellular and intracellular signaling pathways, including the Hippo signaling pathway that limits the growth of various organs. In the optic neuroepithelial continuum, which is partitioned into the retina, retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and ciliary margin (CM) during eye development, the Hippo signaling activity operates differentially, as it does in many tissues. In this review, we summarize recent studies that have explored the relationship between the Hippo signaling pathway and growth of optic neuroepithelial compartments. We will focus particularly on the roles of a tumor suppressor, neurofibromin 2 (NF2), whose expression is not only dependent on compartment-specific transcription factors, but is also subject to regulation by a Hippo-Yap feedback signaling circuit.
Keywords: ciliary margin, eye development, Hippo pathway, neurofibromin 2 (NF2), retina
Development of the organs and tissues that make up multicellular organism is mediated by a series of compartmentalizations from unspecified germ layers of the post-gastrula embryo. During the divergent development that gives rise distinct tissues with defined size and shape from a uniform germ layer continuum, each compartment maintains a unique growth rate relative to its neighboring compartments (Stanger, 2008). The growth of individual tissue compartments is mainly related to the proliferation of the cells that comprise that compartment, whereas intercellular communication mediated by various morphogens and growth factors is responsible for coordination of growth between neighboring tissue compartments. Therefore, both alterations in intrinsic growth rate within a compartment and perturbations in growth coordination between neighboring compartments cause tissue hypertrophy and hypotrophy, resulting in various developmental defects.
Vertebrate eyes have been employed to study intercellular and intracellular signaling pathways that specify the fates of optic compartments by inducing compartment-specific transcription factors and coordinate growth of neighboring compartments by regulating cell proliferation (Chow and Lang, 2001; Graw, 2010; Kim and Kim, 2012). The primordial eye field in the anterior neural plate is specified immediately after gastrulation to form the optic vesicle (OV), a neuroepithelial evagination of the ventral-lateral diencephalic area. The OV then invaginates to form a double-layered optic cup (OC), the inner and outer layers of which develop into the neural retina and the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), respectively. At the peripheral region of the OC, which forms the border between the retina and RPE, the ciliary margin (CM) is specified and develops further into the ciliary body (CB) and iris in the mature eye (Beebe, 1986; Fig. 1).
Each optic neuroepithelial compartment has discrete growth and proliferation features (Chow and Lang, 2001; Graw, 2010; Kim and Kim, 2012). The retina has greater proliferative potential than the other two compartments by virtue of the presence of retinal progenitor cells (RPCs), which are capable of dividing repeatedly and generating retinal neurons and Müller glia on distinct developmental schedules. In contrast, the RPE consists of post-mitotic epithelial cells that establish a monolayer structure that enwraps the retina (Fuhrmann et al., 2014). Cells in the embryonic CM and post-natal CB maintain their proliferative potential even as cells in the retina stop proliferating, albeit at a lower rate than retinal cells (Napier and Kidson, 2005; Fig. 2). Proliferating cells in the CM can also be specified to RPCs in the peripheral retina, although the retinal stem cell property of these cells in the mammalian eye remains a matter of debate (Belanger et al., 2017; Cicero et al., 2009; Marcucci et al., 2016; Ohta et al., 2008; Tropepe et al., 2000). Therefore, not only the CB and iris, which arise from the CM domain, but also the retina, fail to grow to normal size when CM cell proliferation is impaired. Defects in CM/CB cell proliferation, therefore, often manifest as microphthalmia.
Multiple signaling pathways that influence the specification and growth of the CM and CB have been identified (Fig. 2). Wnt signaling activity, as determined by Tcf7l1-dependent reporter gene expression, is concentrated in the CM area, particularly in the outer CM layer (Fuhrmann et al., 2009; Liu et al., 2003). Inactivation of Wnt signaling by deletion of β-catenin (βCtn) results in transformation of the CM and RPE into the retina as a result of failure to specify and/or maintain the CM and RPE (Fujimura et al., 2009; Westenskow et al., 2009). Conversely, constitutive activation of Wnt-βCtn signaling leads to expansion of the CM domain into retinal territory (Cho and Cepko, 2006; Liu et al., 2007). These observations therefore suggest that active Wnt-βCtn signaling is necessary to maintain CM fate, whereas normal eye development requires that Wnt signaling be inhibited in central OC regions (i.e., the retina and RPE).
In addition to Wnts, autocrine bone morphogenic factors (BMPs) are also necessary for development of the CB. Unlike Wnts, which maintain CM identity in the embryo, BMPs mainly act to induce CB folds in the post-natal eyes. Support for this, a haplodeficiency of
Sonic hedgehog (Shh) is secreted by retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), the first-born retinal neuron subtype, and can diffuse to act on CM cells, while it induces RPC proliferation in the retina (Wang et al., 2005). However, the mitogenic effects of Shh cannot reach the CM because Shh is captured and endocytosed by low-density lipoprotein-related protein 2 (Lrp2) in CM cells (Christ et al., 2015). Collectively, these intercellular signaling pathways coordinately regulate the proliferation (positively by Wnt and Notch, but negatively by Lrp2) and morphogenesis (positively by BMP) of CM/CB during eye development. However, given the shared, but graded, characteristics of the retina, CM/CB and RPE in terms of proliferation, differentiation and stiffness, additional determinants that are commonly displayed, but to different degrees, in all compartments should be present to allow differentiation of these characteristics. However, given the shared characteristics of the retina, CM/CB and RPE, in terms of proliferation, differentiation and stiffness, additional determinants that are commonly displayed, but to different degrees, in all compartments should be present to allow differentiation of these characteristics.
The Hippo signaling pathway was originally identified in
Hippo signaling is activated by contact-dependent signals. Thus, many upstream regulators of Hippo signaling pathway, including Expanded (Ex), Merlin (Mer) and Kibra, are commonly involved in polarization and adhesion of the epithelium. In
Neurofibromin 2 (NF2), also known as schwannomin, is a mammalian homolog of
NF2 activates the Hippo signaling pathway at multiple levels. First, NF2 initiates Hippo signaling via MST kinases (Hamaratoglu et al., 2006). Specifically, NF2 recruits MST1/2 to form an MST–SAV complex, which phosphorylates LATS. Second, at AJs, NF2 activates LATS independently of MST by associating with α-catenin and AMOT, which recruits LATS kinases (Li et al., 2015). Last, NF2 inhibits the E3 ubiquitin ligase CRL4-DCAF1 to inhibit CRL4-DCAF1-mediated ubiquitination of LATS kinases (Li et al., 2010).
YAP/TAZ (YAP and TAZ) is expressed in all optic neuroepithelial compartments; however, its importance varies according to tissue type. In zebrafish, germ-line knockout of
In mouse eye development,
Recently, we reported that the NF2-Hippo pathway limits the growth capacity of the RPE and CM in the developing eye (Moon et al., 2018). Loss of
NF2 has been amply demonstrated to exert an anti-proliferative function in various progenitor populations and is known to mediate the Hippo pathway (Lavado et al., 2013; Serinagaoglu et al., 2015; Zhang et al., 2010). Thus, the differential expression of
In the other two optic neuroepithelial compartments—RPE and retina—the two compartment-specific transcription factors Mitf and Sox2 are suggested to control
The functions of YAP/TAZ in stem cell maintenance have been described in various experimental systems (Barry et al., 2013; Lian et al., 2010; Ohgushi et al., 2015). The mammalian CM has been shown to give rise to the cells in the peripheral retina and ciliary epithelial progeny in the CB and iris, at least during embryonic and perinatal periods of eye development (Belanger et al., 2017; Marcucci et al., 2016). Mouse CM cells express Yap/Taz at higher levels compared with the moderate Yap/Taz expression in early RPCs, suggesting that high Yap/Taz activity is required for maintaining the stemness and bipotency of CM progenitors and the antagonistic activity of the Hippo pathway toward them. In support of this, nascent RPCs derived from
Hippo signaling activity is tightly regulated during eye development such that dysregulation of Hippo signaling activity leads to severe ocular lesions owing to defects in the coordination of optic tissue growth. Recent studies have revealed that NF2, an upstream regulator of the Hippo signaling pathway, plays a crucial in eye development by differentiating the growth profile of the optic neuroepithelium, establishing the epithelial rigidity of the RPE/CM population, and maintaining proper Yap/Taz activity during the transition of CM-derived, nascent RPCs. Further research is required to reveal how the NF2-Hippo-Yap singling pathway is integrated with the multiple regulatory networks that control the eye development, including Wnt/β-catenin, BMP, and Notch pathways.
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