Oral Presentation 2014 Cutaneous Biology Meeting

Yap activates beta-catenin in murine epidermal stem/progenitor cell proliferation (#41)

Bassem Akladios 1 , Joshua Eeles 2 , Duncan Lambie 3 , H. Peter Soyer 3 , Brian Key 2 , Kiarash Khosrotehrani 3 4 , Hardeman Edna 1 , Annemiek Beverdam 1 2
  1. School of Medical Sciences, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  2. University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
  3. Dermatology Research Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  4. UQ Centre for Clinical Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Skin cancer accounts for 80% of newly diagnosed cancers in Australia. Oncoprotein Yes-associated protein (YAP) is a pivotal and highly conserved regulator of stem cells and organ size that is active in human cancer. We have recently generated a transgenic mouse model that expresses a constitutively active form of YAP protein mutant YAP2-5SA-ΔC in the basal epidermal cells, and survives postnatal life. YAP2-5SA-ΔC mice display hyperpigmentation, and a dramatic expansion of epidermal stem/progenitor cell populations in the interfollicular epidermis and in the hair follicle bulge. Wnt/β-catenin signaling is another pivotal regulator of epidermal and melanocyte stem/progenitor cell proliferation. We found that YAP and β-catenin co-localize in epidermal bulge stem/progenitor cells, and found evidence suggesting that Yap may activate β-catenin in bulge stem cell proliferation. Interestingly, we also found that YAP and β-catenin co-localize in the nuclei of human skin cancers. Taken together, this work supports the existence of a positive regulatory interaction between YAP and β-catenin in the regulation of epidermal stem/progenitor cell proliferation during normal skin homeostasis, which may be disrupted in the etiology of skin cancer.