Allosteric Modulation of the YAP/TAZ-TEAD Interaction by Palmitoylation and Small-Molecule Inhibitors

Abstract

The Hippo signaling pathway is a highly conserved signaling network that plays a central role in regulating cellular growth, proliferation, and organ size. This pathway consists of a kinase cascade that integrates various upstream signals to control the activation or inactivation of YAP/TAZ proteins. Phosphorylated YAP/TAZ is sequestered in the cytoplasm; however, when the Hippo pathway is deactivated, it translocates into the nucleus, where it associates with TEAD transcription factors. This partnership is instrumental in regulating the transcription of progrowth and antiapoptotic genes. Thus, in many cancers, aberrantly hyperactivated YAP/TAZ promotes oncogenesis by contributing to cancer cell proliferation, metastasis, and therapy resistance. Because YAP and TAZ exert their oncogenic effects by binding with TEAD, it is critical to understand this key interaction to develop cancer therapeutics. Previous research has indicated that TEAD undergoes autopalmitoylation at a conserved cysteine, and small molecules that inhibit TEAD palmitoylation disrupt effective YAP/TAZ binding. However, how exactly palmitoylation contributes to YAP/TAZ-TEAD interactions and how the TEAD palmitoylation inhibitors disrupt this interaction remains unknown. Utilizing molecular dynamics simulations, our investigation not only provides detailed atomistic insight into the YAP/TAZ-TEAD dynamics but also unveils that the inhibitor studied influences the binding of YAP and TAZ to TEAD in distinct manners. This discovery has significant implications for the design and deployment of future molecular interventions targeting this interaction.

Effects of the Y432S Cancer-Associated Variant on the Reaction Mechanism of Human DNA Polymerase κ

“…Calculating the average energies of nonbonded intermolecular interactions (Coulomb + van der Waals) with respect to specific reference residue(s) can provide insight into the role of individual residues. EDA has been proven effective in exploring MD simulations and QM/MM calculations for various protein systems. − EDA was calculated using the AMBER-EDA code on the precatalytic stage of the polymerization reaction by the WT and Y432S systems. The analysis was run on 25,000 snapshots of the last 500 ns of the MD simulations.…”