High impact information on hpo

• hippo encodes a Ste-20 family protein kinase that restricts cell proliferation and promotes apoptosis in conjunction with salvador and warts [1].
• A human homolog of hpo completely rescues the overgrowth phenotype of Drosophila hpo mutants, suggesting that hpo might play a conserved role for growth control in mammals [1].
• Loss of hpo results in elevated transcription of the cell cycle regulator cyclin E and the cell-death inhibitor diap1, leading to increased proliferation and reduced apoptosis [1].
• The Drosophila Ste20 family kinase dMST functions as a tumor suppressor by restricting cell proliferation and promoting apoptosis [2].
• Association of mammalian sterile twenty kinases, Mst1 and Mst2, with hSalvador via C-terminal coiled-coil domains, leads to its stabilization and phosphorylation [3].

Biological context of hpo

• In a genetic screen for mutations that restrict cell growth and organ size, we identified a new tumor suppressor gene, dMST, which encodes the Drosophila homolog of the mammalian Ste20 kinase family members MST1 and MST2 [2].

Associations of hpo with chemical compounds

• Four recent papers describe the characterization in Drosophila of Hippo, a serine/threonine kinase of the Sterile 20 (STE20) group, resembling Mst1 and Mst2 [4].

References