Fig. 5.

Nf2/merlin mechanistic events in Hippo signaling.Center, in its closed conformation, Nf2/merlin has its α-helix C-terminal of its FERM domain in contact with its F2 subdomain. (i) LATS1 (top) or the membrane (bottom) bind to the closed (center) Nf2/merlin conformation whereby only PIP₂ causes dramatic structural activation rearrangements. LATS1 binding results in some allosteric movements of the α-helix from the α-helical domain. (ii) The membrane-bound (bottom) or LATS1-bound (top) Nf2/merlin are both permissive for ternary complex formation.