Chapter 2 - Ras and the Hippo Pathway in Cancer

Abstract

The Hippo tumor suppressor pathway is a developmentally conserved signal cascade that regulates tissue growth and organ size. In line with the role in suppressing growth, the pathway is being increasingly described to suppress proliferation of cancer cells. Exactly how the Hippo tumor suppressor pathway is inactivated in cancers is not fully understood, but existing evidence supports the idea that growth promoting pathways may also serve to repress pathway activity. Interestingly, Ras signaling has become an appealing candidate for Hippo inactivation as increasing reports outline how EGFR-RAS-RAF-MEK-ERK–mediated cross talk controls Hippo signaling. Here we aim to discuss the pathway cross talk in detail, outlining the existing evidence and presenting an overview of current knowledge of the interplay between RAS and Hippo pathways.