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Hwang, Katie

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Hwang

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Katie

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Hwang, Katie

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2015 - 20162

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    The Metabolic Role of the Hippo Pathway in Liver Development and Cancer
    (2015-05-12) Hwang, Katie; Langenau, David; Steinhauser, Matthew; Vander Heiden, Matthew
    Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a global health problem with poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options. While the clinical risk factors for HCC are well described, the precise molecular and metabolic mechanisms contributing to malignant transformation remain largely unknown. Recently, the Hippo signaling pathway has been identified as a key regulator of cellular proliferation, organ size, and tumorigenesis in numerous tissues, including the liver. However, the metabolic impact of the pathway in supporting liver growth and tumorigenesis has not been studied. The zebrafish, Danio rerio, has successfully been applied as a model to investigate signaling pathways important in organ development to model liver development and cancer. Here, we utilize the zebrafish to investigate the functional and metabolic roles of the Hippo pathway in liver development and cancer in vivo. Using a transgenic zebrafish model with liver-specific activation of the transcriptional co-activator Yap, the downstream target of the Hippo pathway, we show Yap is functionally conserved in its ability to promote embryonic and adult hepatomegaly. These livers demonstrate signs of dysplasia and increased tumor susceptibility upon chemical carcinogen exposure. Using transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis, we discover that nitrogen metabolism is significantly altered in Yap-transgenic livers. Yap upregulates glutamine synthetase (Glul) expression leading to elevated steady-state levels of glutamine, which significantly contributes to its ability to enhance liver growth and de novo purine biosynthesis. To further probe the functional and metabolic role of Yap prior to liver outgrowth, we utilize yap knockout zebrafish and heat-shock inducible transgenic zebrafish that modulate Yap activity to examine early liver development. We show Yap is important for hepatoblast formation and expansion. Further, Yap modulates glucose uptake and glycolytic flux into de novo nucleotide synthesis. Overall, this dissertation reveals novel roles of Yap in cellular metabolism to support proliferation and growth by directing glucose into the building blocks of DNA in the context of development and cancer.
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    Yap reprograms glutamine metabolism to increase nucleotide biosynthesis and enable liver growth
    (2016) Cox, Andrew G; Hwang, Katie; Brown, Kristin K.; Evason, Kimberley; Beltz, Sebastian; Tsomides, Allison; O'Connor, Keelin; Galli, Giorgio G.; Yimlamai, Dean; Chhangawala, Sagar; Yuan, Min; Lien, Evan C.; Wucherpfennig, Julia; Nissim, Sahar; Minami, Akihiro; Cohen, David E.; Camargo, Fernando; Asara, John; Houvras, Yariv; Stainier, Didier Y.R.; Goessling, Wolfram
    The Hippo pathway is an important regulator of organ size and tumorigenesis. It is unclear, however, how Hippo signaling provides the cellular building blocks required for rapid growth. Here, we demonstrate that transgenic zebrafish expressing an activated form of the Hippo pathway effector Yap1 (also known as YAP) develop enlarged livers and are prone to liver tumor formation. Transcriptomic and metabolomic profiling identify that Yap1 reprograms glutamine metabolism. Yap1 directly enhances glutamine synthetase (glul) expression and activity, elevating steady-state levels of glutamine and enhancing the relative isotopic enrichment of nitrogen during de novo purine and pyrimidine biosynthesis. Genetic or pharmacological inhibition of GLUL diminishes the isotopic enrichment of nitrogen into nucleotides, suppresses hepatomegaly and the growth of liver cancer cells. Consequently, Yap-driven liver growth is susceptible to nucleotide inhibition. Together, our findings demonstrate that Yap1 integrates the anabolic demands of tissue growth during development and tumorigenesis by reprogramming nitrogen metabolism to stimulate nucleotide biosynthesis.