Abstract

Stefano PiccoloDepartment of Molecular Medicine, University of Padua School of Medicine, viale Colombo 3, 35126 Padua, ItalyIFOM Istituto FIRC di Oncologia Molecolare, via Adamello 16, 20139 Milan, Italy We study how cells sense their environment and use this information to build and maintain tissues with specific form, size and function, and how these systems are corrupted in diseases. At the centerpiece of these events is the activity of the transcriptional coactivators YAP and TAZ. Enhanced YAP/TAZ activity is emerging as a hallmark of multiple human tumors. I will discuss the cell and tissue-level mechanisms that lead to unrestrained YAP/TAZ activity, in turn essential for tumor formation and for tissue regeneration upon injury. I will also present new evidence on the function of YAP/TAZ in regulating the biology of normal somatic stem cell explanted from adult tissues.