LATS1 and LATS2 are the mammalian homologs of Drosophila warts (wts; Q9VA38), and are core components of the Hippo pathway, which is essentially a kinase cascade whose terminal output regulates the activities of specific transcriptional coactivators which control expression of a diverse set of genes that are involved in cell proliferation, survival, and migration. In short, the mammalian Hippo pathway flows from MST1/2 (kinases) -> LATS1/2 (kinases) -> YAP (YY1AP1) and TAZ (WWTR1) (transcriptional coactivators) -> TEA domain (TEAD) 1-4 (transcription factors)-induced gene expression, but a total of more than 30 components have been implicated at the nodes along this complex signalling network.

Hippo signalling has traditionally been viewed as a key regulator of organ growth and development, tissue homeostasis and tumour suppression in multiple organisms [3]. More recent studies have identified new roles for the Hippo pathway in immunology [1-2,4].

1. Du X, Wen J, Wang Y, Karmaus PWF, Khatamian A, Tan H, Li Y, Guy C, Nguyen TM, Dhungana Y et al.. (2018) Hippo/Mst signalling couples metabolic state and immune function of CD8α⁺ dendritic cells. Nature, 558 (7708): 141-145. [PMID:29849151]

2. Hong L, Li X, Zhou D, Geng J, Chen L. (2018) Role of Hippo signaling in regulating immunity. Cell Mol Immunol, 15 (12): 1003-1009. [PMID:29568120]

3. Meng Z, Moroishi T, Guan KL. (2016) Mechanisms of Hippo pathway regulation. Genes Dev, 30 (1): 1-17. [PMID:26728553]

4. Taha Z, J Janse van Rensburg H, Yang X. (2018) The Hippo Pathway: Immunity and Cancer. Cancers (Basel), 10 (4). [PMID:29597279]