Hedgehog (Hh) proteins regulate the development of a wide range of metazoan embryonic and adult structures, and disruption of Hh signaling pathways results in various human diseases. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of the signaling pathways regulated by Hh, consolidating data from a diverse array of organisms in a variety of scientific disciplines. Similar to the elucidation of many other signaling pathways, our knowledge of Hh signaling developed in a sequential manner centered on its earliest discoveries. Thus, our knowledge of Hh signaling has for the most part focused on elucidating the mechanism by which Hh regulates the Gli family of transcription factors, the so-called “canonical” Hh signaling pathway. However, in the past few years, numerous studies have shown that Hh proteins can also signal through Gli-independent mechanisms collectively referred to as “noncanonical” signaling pathways. Noncanonical Hh signaling is itself subdivided into two distinct signaling modules: (i) those not requiring Smoothened (Smo) and (ii) those downstream of Smo that do not require Gli transcription factors. Thus, Hh signaling is now proposed to occur through a variety of distinct context-dependent signaling modules that have the ability to crosstalk with one another to form an interacting, dynamic Hh signaling network.

The Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway plays an evolutionarily conserved role in patterning fields of cells during metazoan development, and is inappropriately activated in cancer1,2. Hh pathway activity is absolutely dependent upon signaling by the seven-transmembrane protein Smoothened (Smo), which is regulated by the Hh receptor Patched (Ptc). Smo signals to an intracellular multiprotein complex containing the Kinesin related protein Costal2 (Cos2), the protein kinase Fused (Fu) and the transcription factor Cubitus interruptus (Ci)3. In the absence of Hh, this complex regulates the cleavage of full length Ci to a truncated repressor protein, Ci 75 in a process that is dependent upon the proteosome and priming phosphorylations by Protein Kinase A (PKA)4. Binding of Hh to Ptc blocks Ptc-mediated Smo inhibition, allowing Smo to signal to the intracellular components to attenuate Ci cleavage. Because of its homology with the Frizzled family of G protein coupled receptors (GPCR)5, a likely candidate for an immediate Smo effector would be a heterotrimeric G protein. However, the role G proteins may play in Hh signal transduction is unclear and quite controversial6-10, which has led to widespread speculation that Smo signals through a variety of novel G protein independent mechanisms. Here, we present in vitro and in vivo evidence that Smo activates a G protein to modulate intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) levels in response to Hh. Our results demonstrate that Smo functions as a canonical GPCR, which signals through Gαi to regulate Hh pathway activation.In order to examine whether a G protein is involved in Hh signaling, we targeted a series of G proteins by double stranded RNA (dsRNA)-mediated knockdown. Clone-8 (Cl8) cells Users may view, print, copy, and download text and data-mine the content in such documents, for the purposes of academic research, subject always to the full Conditions of use

We have asked how the common S34F mutation in the splicing factor U2AF1 regulates alternative splicing in lung cancer, and why wild-type U2AF1 is retained in cancers with this mutation. A human lung epithelial cell line was genetically modified so that U2AF1S34F is expressed from one of the two endogenous U2AF1 loci. By altering levels of mutant or wild-type U2AF1 in this cell line and by analyzing published data on human lung adenocarcinomas, we show that S34F-associated changes in alternative splicing are proportional to the ratio of S34F:wild-type gene products and not to absolute levels of either the mutant or wild-type factor. Preferential recognition of specific 3′ splice sites in S34F-expressing cells is largely explained by differential in vitro RNA-binding affinities of mutant versus wild-type U2AF1 for those same 3′ splice sites. Finally, we show that lung adenocarcinoma cell lines bearing U2AF1 mutations do not require the mutant protein for growth in vitro or in vivo. In contrast, wild-type U2AF1 is required for survival, regardless of whether cells carry the U2AF1S34F allele. Our results provide mechanistic explanations of the magnitude of splicing changes observed in U2AF1-mutant cells and why tumors harboring U2AF1 mutations always retain an expressed copy of the wild-type allele.