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The Hedgehog (HH) signalling pathway is a cell-cell communication system that controls the patterning of multiple tissues during embryogenesis in metazoans. In adults, HH signals regulate tissue stem cells and regenerative responses. Abnormal signalling can cause birth defects and cancer. The HH signal is received on target cells by Patched (PTCH1), the receptor for HH ligands, and then transmitted across the plasma membrane by Smoothened (SMO). Recent structural and biochemical studies have pointed to a sterol lipid, likely cholesterol itself, as the elusive second messenger that communicates the HH signal between PTCH1 and SMO, thus linking ligand reception to transmembrane signalling.

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.sbi.2019.05.015

Type

Journal article

Journal

Current opinion in structural biology

Publication Date

08/2019

Volume

57

Pages

204 - 214

Addresses

Division of Structural Biology, Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.

Keywords

Spine, Animals, Humans, Cholesterol, Signal Transduction, Hedgehog Proteins, Patched Receptors, Smoothened Receptor