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. 2019 Mar 26;8:e43996. doi: 10.7554/eLife.43996

Figure 6. Model of stem cell activity following regulation by the LATS/YAP/TAZ cascade in the anterior pituitary.

Figure 6.

SOX2+ pituitary stem cells express YAP and TAZ (green spheres). During normal developmental and postnatal expansion (normal regulation), pituitary stem cells are maintained as a balanced pool while generating endocrine cells of three committed lineages (red, blue, yellow). Expression of constitutively active YAP-S127A in pituitary stem cells leads to an elevation in target gene expression, an expansion of pituitary stem cell numbers and maintenance of the SOX2+ state, preventing lineage commitment. When YAP-S127A expression ceases, commitment into the endocrine lineages takes place. Genetic deletion of LATS kinases (LATS1 as well as one or two copies of LATS2), results in YAP and TAZ accumulation, major elevation in target gene expression, repression of lineage commitment, continued expansion of SOX2+ cells and tumour formation.