The Ajuba/YAP/TAZ module interconnects cytoskeletal dynamics signaling and transcriptional programs to maintain podocyte homeostasis (C01)

• Subject Area: Nephrology ; Cell Biology
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 543604419

YAP/TAZ, key regulators in the Hippo signaling pathway, and Ajuba proteins, modulators of cytoskeletal and cell junction dynamics, play crucial roles in mechanotransduction. This project focuses on their role in maintaining podocyte health by translating mechanical extracellular signals into precise transcriptional responses. We aim to investigate how Ajuba proteins mediate signaling from the slit diaphragm to modulate YAP/TAZ networks, characterize mechanisms of Ajuba/YAP/TAZ nuclear activity, including liquid-liquid phase separation, and study the impact of Ajuba/YAP/TAZ deregulation during injury.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 422: PodoSigN – Podocyte Signaling Networks - From Basic Concepts to Disease Understanding
• Applicant Institution: Universität zu Köln
• Project Heads: Dr. Inês Cabrita Bustorff Silva; Professor Dr. Bernhard Schermer; Privatdozentin Dr. Beate Vollenbröker