Hippo signaling pathway in lung development, regeneration, and diseases.

function between the circulation and the atmospheric environment. Lung diseases, including lung cancer, are among the leading causes of death in the modern society. Research on lung development, regeneration and cancer could provide significant insights for the development of therapeutic approaches on lung diseases. Hippo/YAP/TAZ signaling pathway regulates cell proliferation and differentiation, controls organ size, and plays an important role in response to mechanical forces. YAP/TAZ are expressed in many cell types and serve various regulatory functions in the embryonic and adult lungs. In this review, we mainly focus on the roles of Hippo/YAP/TAZ signaling pathway in embryonic lung development, regeneration and cancer. We postulate that Hippo/YAP/TAZ signaling may play potential roles in regulating the alveolar mechanics and immune responses in the lung.

Extraction and identification of membrane proteins from black widow spider eggs.

The eggs of oviparous animals are storehouses of maternal proteins required for embryonic development. Identification and molecular characterization of such proteins will provide much insight into the regulation of embryonic development. We previously analyzed soluble proteins in the eggs of the black widow spider (Latrodectus tredecimguttatus), and report here on the extraction and mass spectrometric identification of the egg membrane proteins. Comparison of different lysis solutions indicated that the highest extraction of the membrane proteins was achieved with 3%-4% sodium laurate in 40 mmol/L Tris-HCl buffer containing 4% CHAPS and 2% DTT (pH 7.4). SDS-PAGE combined with nLC-MS/MS identified 39 proteins with membrane-localization annotation, including those with structural, catalytic, and regulatory activities. Nearly half of the identified membrane proteins were metabolic enzymes involved in various cellular processes, particularly energy metabolism and biosynthesis, suggesting that relevant metabolic processes were active during the embryonic development of the eggs. Several identified cell membrane proteins were involved in the special structure formation and function of the egg cell membranes. The present proteomic analysis of the egg membrane proteins provides new insight into the molecular mechanisms of spider embryonic development.