Pathway: Hedgehog ligand biogenesis

Reactions in pathway: Hedgehog ligand biogenesis :

Hedgehog ligand biogenesis

Mammalian genomes encode three Hedgehog ligands, Sonic Hedgehog (SHH), Indian Hedgehog (IHH) and Desert Hedgehog (DHH). These secreted morphogens can remain associated with lipid rafts on the surface of the secreting cell and affect developmental processes in adjacent cells. Alternatively, they can be released by proteolysis or packaging into vesicles or lipoprotein particles and dispersed to act on distant cells. SHH activity is required for organization of the limb bud, notochord and neural plate, IHH regulates bone and cartilage development and is partially redundant with SHH, and DHH contributes to germ cell development in the testis and formation of the peripheral nerve sheath (reviewed in Pan et al, 2013).

Despite divergent biological roles, all Hh ligands are subject to proteolytic processing and lipid modification during transit to the surface of the secreting cell (reviewed in Gallet, 2011). Precursor Hh undergoes autoproteolytic cleavage mediated by the C-terminal region to yield an amino-terminal peptide Hh-Np (also referred to as Hh-N) (Chen et al, 2011). No other well defined role for the C-terminal region of Hh has been identified, and the secreted Hh-Np is responsible for all Hh signaling activity. Hh-Np is modified with cholesterol and palmitic acid during transit through the secretory system, and both modifications contribute to the activity of the ligand (Porter et al, 1996; Pepinsky et al, 1998; Chamoun et al, 2001).

At the cell surface, Hh-Np remains associated with the secreting cell membrane by virtue of its lipid modifications, which promote clustering of Hh-Np into lipid rafts (Callejo et al, 2006; Peters et al, 2004). Long range dispersal of Hh-Np depends on the untethering of the ligand from the membrane through a variety of mechanisms. These include release of monomers through the combined activity of the transmembrane protein Dispatched (DISP2) and the secreted protein SCUBE2, assembly into soluble multimers or apolipoprotein particles or release on the surface of exovesicles (Vyas et al, 2008; Tukachinsky et al, 2012; Chen 2004; Zeng et al, 2001; reviewed in Briscoe and Therond, 2013).

Signaling by Hedgehog

Hedgehog (Hh) is a secreted morphogen that regulates developmental processes in vertebrates including limb bud formation, neural tube patterning, cell growth and differentiation (reviewed in Hui and Angers, 2011). Hh signaling also contributes to stem cell homeostasis in adult tissues. Downregulation of Hh signaling can lead to neonatal abnormalities, while upregulation of signaling is associated with the development of various cancers (Beachy et al, 2004; Jiang and Hui, 2008; Hui and Angers, 2011).

Hh signaling is switched between 'off' and an 'on' states to differentially regulate an intracellular signaling cascade that targets the Gli transcription factors. In the absence of Hh ligand, cytosolic Gli proteins are cleaved to yield a truncated form that translocates into the nucleus and represses target gene transcription. Binding of Hh to the Patched (PTC) receptor on the cell surface stabilizes the Gli proteins in their full-length transcriptional activator form, stimulating Hh-dependent gene expression (reviewed in Hui and Angers, 2011; Briscoe and Therond, 2013).

Signal Transduction

Signal transduction is a process in which extracellular signals elicit changes in cell state and activity. Transmembrane receptors sense changes in the cellular environment by binding ligands, such as hormones and growth factors, or reacting to other types of stimuli, such as light. Stimulation of transmembrane receptors leads to their conformational change which propagates the signal to the intracellular environment by activating downstream signaling cascades. Depending on the cellular context, this may impact cellular proliferation, differentiation, and survival. On the organism level, signal transduction regulates overall growth and behavior.
Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) transmit extracellular signals by phosphorylating their protein partners on conserved tyrosine residues. Some of the best studied RTKs are EGFR (reviewed in Avraham and Yarden, 2011), FGFR (reviewed in Eswarakumar et al, 2005), insulin receptor (reviewed in Saltiel and Kahn, 2001), NGF (reviewed in Reichardt, 2006), PDGF (reviewed in Andrae et al, 2008) and VEGF (reviewed in Xie et al, 2004). RTKs frequently activate downstream signaling through RAF/MAP kinases (reviewed in McKay and Morrison, 2007 and Wellbrock et al 2004), AKT (reviewed in Manning and Cantley, 2007) and PLC- gamma (reviewed in Patterson et al, 2005), which ultimately results in changes in gene expression and cellular metabolism.
Receptor serine/threonine kinases of the TGF-beta family, such as TGF-beta receptors (reviewed in Kang et al. 2009) and BMP receptors (reviewed in Miyazono et al. 2009), transmit extracellular signals by phosphorylating regulatory SMAD proteins on conserved serine and threonine residues. This leads to formation of complexes of regulatory SMADs and SMAD4, which translocate to the nucleus where they act as transcription factors.
WNT receptors transmit their signal through beta-catenin. In the absence of ligand, beta-catenin is constitutively degraded in a ubiquitin-dependent manner. WNT receptor stimulation releases beta-catenin from the destruction complex, allowing it to translocate to the nucleus where it acts as a transcriptional regulator (reviewed in MacDonald et al, 2009 and Angers and Moon, 2009). WNT receptors were originally classified as G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Although they are structurally related, GPCRs primarily transmit their signals through G-proteins, which are trimers of alpha, beta and gamma subunits. When a GPCR is activated, it acts as a guanine nucleotide exchange factor, catalyzing GDP to GTP exchange on the G-alpha subunit of the G protein and its dissociation from the gamma-beta heterodimer. The G-alpha subunit regulates the activity of adenylate cyclase, while the gamma-beta heterodimer can activate AKT and PLC signaling (reviewed in Rosenbaum et al. 2009, Oldham and Hamm 2008, Ritter and Hall 2009).
NOTCH receptors are activated by transmembrane ligands expressed on neighboring cells, which results in cleavage of NOTCH receptor and release of its intracellular domain. NOTCH intracellular domain translocates to the nucleus where it acts as a transcription factor (reviewed in Kopan and Ilagan, 2009).
Integrins are activated by extracellular matrix components, such as fibronectin and collagen, leading to conformational change and clustering of integrins on the cell surface. This results in activation of integrin-linked kinase and other cytosolic kinases and, in co-operation with RTK signaling, regulates survival, proliferation and cell shape and adhesion (reviewed in Hehlgans et al, 2007) .
Besides inducing changes in gene expression and cellular metabolism, extracellular signals that trigger the activation of Rho GTP-ases can trigger changes in the organization of cytoskeleton, thereby regulating cell polarity and cell-cell junctions (reviewed in Citi et al, 2011).