Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive cancer with poor survival rates and frequently carries oncogenic KRAS mutation. However, KRAS has thus far not been a viable therapeutic target. We found that the abundance of YAP mRNA, which encodes Yes-associated protein (YAP), a protein regulated by the Hippo pathway during tissue development and homeostasis, was increased in human PDAC tissue compared with that in normal pancreatic epithelia. In genetically engineered KrasG12D and KrasG12D: Trp53R172H mouse models, pancreas-specific deletion of Yap halted the progression of early neoplastic lesions to PDAC without affecting normal pancreatic development and endocrine function. Although Yap was dispensable for acinar to ductal metaplasia (ADM), an initial step in the progression to PDAC, Yap was critically required for the proliferation of mutant Kras or Kras:Trp53 neoplastic pancreatic ductal cells in culture and for their growth and progression to invasive PDAC in mice. Yap functioned as a critical transcriptional switch downstream of the oncogenic KRAS–mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, promoting the expression of genes encoding secretory factors that cumulatively sustained neoplastic proliferation, a tumorigenic stromal response in the tumor microenvironment, and PDAC progression in Kras and Kras: Trp53 mutant pancreas tissue. Together, our findings identified Yap as a critical oncogenic KRAS effector and a promising therapeutic target for PDAC and possibly other types of KRAS-mutant cancers.

Highlights d Transcriptomes of SCA7 mice revealed downregulation of genes controlling Ca 2+ flux d Altered membrane excitability in SCA7 involves NAD + depletion and PARP1 activation d Increased Sirt1 rescued cerebellar degeneration and calcium defects in SCA7 mice d NAD + repletion prevented disease in SCA7 mice and patient stem cell-derived neurons

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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis type 4 (ALS4) is a rare, early-onset, autosomal dominant form of ALS, characterized by slow disease progression and sparing of respiratory musculature. Dominant, gain-of-function mutations in the senataxin gene (SETX) cause ALS4, but the mechanistic basis for motor neuron toxicity is unknown. SETX is a RNA-binding protein with a highly conserved helicase domain, but does not possess a low-complexity domain, making it unique among ALS-linked disease proteins. We derived ALS4 mouse models by expressing two different senataxin gene mutations (R2136H and L389S) via transgenesis and knock-in gene targeting. Both approaches yielded SETX mutant mice that develop neuromuscular phenotypes and motor neuron degeneration. Neuropathological characterization of SETX mice revealed nuclear clearing of TDP-43, accompanied by TDP-43 cytosolic mislocalization, consistent with the hallmark pathology observed in human ALS patients. Postmortem material from ALS4 patients exhibited TDP-43 mislocalization in spinal cord motor neurons, and motor neurons from SETX ALS4 mice displayed enhanced stress granule formation. Immunostaining analysis for nucleocytoplasmic transport proteins Ran and RanGAP1 uncovered nuclear membrane abnormalities in the motor neurons of SETX ALS4 mice, and nuclear import was delayed in SETX ALS4 cortical neurons, indicative of impaired nucleocytoplasmic trafficking. SETX ALS4 mice thus recapitulated ALS disease phenotypes in association with TDP-43 mislocalization and provided insight into the basis for TDP-43 histopathology, linking SETX dysfunction to common pathways of ALS motor neuron degeneration.

SUMMARY Merlin encoded by the Nf2 gene is a bona fide tumor suppressor that has been implicated in regulation of both the Hippo-Yap and the Rac1-Pak1 pathways. Using genetically engineered murine liver models, we show that co-deletion of Rac1 with Nf2 blocks tumor initiation but paradoxically exacerbates hepatomegaly induced by Nf2 loss, which can be suppressed either by treatment with pro-oxidants or by co-deletion of Yap. Our results suggest that while Yap acts as the central driver of proliferation during Nf2 tumorigenesis, Rac1 primarily functions as an inflammation switch by inducing ROS that on one hand induces NFkB signaling and expression of inflammatory cytokines, and on the other activates p53 checkpoint and senescence programs dampening the cyclinD1-pRb-E2F1 pathway. Interestingly, senescence markers are associated with benign NF2 tumors but not with malignant NF2 mutant mesotheliomas, suggesting that senescence may underlie the benign nature of most NF2 tumors.

Our data demonstrated that the presence of mitochondrial products in the circulation leads to systemic inflammatory response and lung injury. In its acute phase lung injury induced by tissue or bacterial products is clinically indistinguishable.