Smoothened is a

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

that in humans is encoded by the ''SMO''

gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

. Smoothened is a Class

Frizzled Frizzled is a family of atypical G protein-coupled receptor, G protein-coupled receptors that serve as receptors in the Wnt signaling pathway and other signaling pathways. When activated, Frizzled leads to activation of Dishevelled in the cytosol ...

(Class F)

G protein-coupled receptor G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), also known as seven-(pass)-transmembrane domain receptors, 7TM receptors, heptahelical receptors, serpentine receptors, and G protein-linked receptors (GPLR), form a large group of evolutionarily related ...

that is a component of the

hedgehog signaling pathway The Hedgehog signaling pathway is a signaling pathway that transmits information to embryonic cells required for proper cell differentiation. Different parts of the embryo have different concentrations of hedgehog signaling proteins. The pathwa ...

and is conserved from

flies Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwin ...

to humans. It is the molecular target of the natural teratogen

cyclopamine Cyclopamine (11-deoxojervine) is a naturally occurring steroidal alkaloid. It is a teratogenic component of corn lily ('' Veratrum californicum''), which when consumed during gestation has been demonstrated to induce birth defects, including the ...

. It also is the target of vismodegib, the first hedgehog pathway inhibitor to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Smoothened (Smo) is a key

transmembrane protein A transmembrane protein is a type of integral membrane protein that spans the entirety of the cell membrane. Many transmembrane proteins function as gateways to permit the transport of specific substances across the membrane. They frequently un ...

that is a key component of the

, a cell-cell communication system critical for embryonic development and adult tissue

homeostasis In biology, homeostasis (British English, British also homoeostasis; ) is the state of steady internal physics, physical and chemistry, chemical conditions maintained by organism, living systems. This is the condition of optimal functioning fo ...

. Mutations in proteins that relay Hh signals between cells cause birth defects and

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

. The protein that carries the Hh signal across the membrane is the oncoprotein and

G-protein coupled receptor G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), also known as seven-(pass)-transmembrane domain receptors, 7TM receptors, heptahelical receptors, serpentine receptors, and G protein-linked receptors (GPLR), form a large protein family, group of evoluti ...

(GPCR) Smoothened (Smo). Smo is regulated by a separate transmembrane receptor for Hh ligands called Patched (Ptc). Ptc itself is a

tumor suppressor A tumor suppressor gene (TSG), or anti-oncogene, is a gene that regulates a cell (biology), cell during cell division and replication. If the cell grows uncontrollably, it will result in cancer. When a tumor suppressor gene is mutated, it results ...

that keeps the Hh pathway off by inhibiting Smo. The excessive Hh signaling that drives human skin and brain cancer is most frequently caused by inactivating mutations in Ptc or by gain of function mutations in Smo. While direct Smo

agonists An agonist is a chemical that activates a receptor to produce a biological response. Receptors are cellular proteins whose activation causes the cell to modify what it is currently doing. In contrast, an antagonist blocks the action of the agon ...

and

antagonists An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.vismodegib, can bind to and activate or inhibit Smo, how Ptc inhibits Smo endogenously remains a mystery in the field. Currently, Smo is targeted and inhibited directly by a small-molecule drug, vismodegib, for the treatment of advanced basal cell cancer, however widespread resistance to this drug has become a prevalent issue. Finding another method to target Smo activity in Hh-driven cancers would provide valuable information for novel therapeutics. Identifying these Ptc responsive sites on Smo will help solve a long-standing mystery in Hh signaling and suggest new therapeutic strategies to block Smo activity in Hh-driven cancers.

Function

Cellular localization plays an essential role in the function of SMO, which anchors to the cell membrane as a 7-pass transmembrane protein. Stimulation of the patched 12-pass transmembrane receptor by the

sonic hedgehog Sonic hedgehog protein (SHH) is a major signaling molecule of embryonic development in humans and animals, encoded by the ''SHH'' gene. This signaling molecule is key in regulating embryonic morphogenesis in all animals. SHH controls organoge ...

ligand leads to translocation of SMO to the primary cilium in vertebrates in a process that involves the exit of patched from the primary cilium, where it normally localizes in its unstimulated state. Vertebrate SMO that is mutated in the domain required for ciliary localisation often cannot contribute to hedgehog pathway activation. Conversely, SMO can become constitutively localized to the primary cilium and potentially activate pathway signaling constitutively as a result of a tryptophan to leucine mutation in the aforementioned domain. SMO has been shown to move during patched stimulation from the plasma membrane near the primary cilium to the ciliary membrane itself via a lateral transport pathway along the membrane, as opposed to via directed transport by vesicles. The cAMP-PKA pathway is known to promote the lateral movement of SMO and hedgehog signal transduction in general. In invertebrates like ''Drosophila,'' SMO does not organize at cilia and instead is generally translocated to the plasma membrane following hedgehog binding to patched. After cellular localization, SMO must additionally be activated by a distinct mechanism in order to stimulate hedgehog signal transduction, but that mechanism is unknown. There is evidence for the existence of an unidentified endogenous ligand that binds SMO and activates it. It is believed that mutations in SMO can mimic the ligand-induced conformation of SMO and activate constitutive signal transduction. SMO plays a key role in transcriptional repression and activation by the zinc-finger transcription factor

Cubitus interruptus Lambda phage (coliphage λ, scientific name ''Lambdavirus lambda'') is a bacterial virus, or bacteriophage, that infects the bacterial species ''Escherichia coli'' (''E. coli''). It was discovered by Esther Lederberg in 1950. The wild type of ...

(Ci; known as Gli in vertebrates). When the hedgehog pathway is inactive, a complex of Fused (Fu), Suppressor of Fused (Sufu), and the kinesin motor protein Costal-2 (Cos2) tether Ci to microtubules. In this complex, Cos2 promotes proteolytic cleavage of Ci by activating hyperphosphorylation of Ci and subsequent recruitment of ubiquitin ligase; the cleaved Ci goes on to act as a repressor of hedgehog-activated transcription. However, when hedgehog signaling is active, Ci remains intact and acts as a transcriptional activator of the same genes that its cleaved form suppresses. SMO has been shown to bind Costal-2 and play a role in the localization of the Ci complex and prevention of Ci cleavage. Additionally, it is known that vertebrate SMO contributes to the activation of Gli as a transcription factor via association with ciliary structures such as Evc2, but these mechanisms are not fully understood.

Endogenous activation

A leading hypothesis in the field is that Patched regulates Smoothened by regulating access to

cholesterol Cholesterol is the principal sterol of all higher animals, distributed in body Tissue (biology), tissues, especially the brain and spinal cord, and in Animal fat, animal fats and oils. Cholesterol is biosynthesis, biosynthesized by all anima ...

or a related substance. It has been proposed that cholesterol activates Smo, and subsequently Hh signaling, by entering the active site through a hydrophobic “oxysterol tunnel,” which can adopt open or closed conformations to allow for activation or inactivation of Smo, respectively, due to allowed sterol binding. Shh would work by inhibiting Ptc, which would increase accessible cholesterol concentrations and allow for the activation of Smo and transmission of the Hh signal. A recent crystal structure has identified two sterol binding sites in Smo, but which site is endogenously regulated by Ptc remains to be determined. The potential sites of regulation include the extracellular cysteine-rich domain (CRD) of Smo, as well as a site deep within the transmembrane domain (TMD).* Due to the abundance of cholesterol in the plasma membrane (up to 50 mole %), it has also been proposed that Ptc regulates the activity of Smo by controlling cholesterol accessibility specifically within the membrane of the primary cilia, which contains a less abundant, and therefore more readily regulated pool of accessible cholesterol. Typically, upon activation and release of inhibition by Ptc, Smo will relocate to the primary cilia and Ptc will diffuse out of the ciliary membrane.* Upon inactivation, Smo no longer becomes concentrated in the ciliary membrane, This hypothesis is supported by methods which can increase or deplete the accessible cholesterol pool, with a subsequent increase or decrease in Hh signaling. This accessible cholesterol pool has been shown to be distinct from the general plasma membrane cholesterol pool in being available for protein interaction and cell uptake. The ciliary membrane has also been shown to contain lower levels of accessible cholesterol due to sequestering of cholesterol by

sphingomyelin Sphingomyelin (SPH, ) is a type of sphingolipid found in animal cell membranes, especially in the membranous myelin sheath that surrounds some nerve cell axons. It usually consists of phosphocholine and ceramide, or a phosphoethanolamine hea ...

. In addition to cholesterol’s role as a Hh pathway agonist, it has been shown that cholesterol levels within the ciliary membrane rapidly increase upon treatment with Shh only in the presence of Ptc, further suggesting Ptc regulation of accessible cholesterol as the mechanism behind Smo activation/inhibition. Additionally, Molecular Dynamics simulations suggest that vismodegib inhibits Smo through a conformational change that prevents cholesterol from binding. This suggests the hypothesis that Ptc functions by preventing Smo access to cholesterol, and upon Ptc inhibition by Shh, Smo gains access to cholesterol and is subsequently activated, transmitting the Hh signal.

Role in disease

SMO can function as an

oncogene An oncogene is a gene that has the potential to cause cancer. In tumor cells, these genes are often mutated, or expressed at high levels.

. Activating SMO mutations can lead to unregulated activation of the hedgehog pathway and serve as driving mutations for cancers such as medulloblastoma,

basal-cell carcinoma Basal-cell carcinoma (BCC), also known as basal-cell cancer, basalioma, or rodent ulcer, is the most common type of skin cancer. It often appears as a painless, raised area of skin, which may be shiny with small blood vessels running over it. ...

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

, and

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

. As such, SMO is an attractive cancer drug target, along with the many hedgehog pathway agonists and antagonists that are known to directly target SMO.

Cholesterol Cholesterol is the principal sterol of all higher animals, distributed in body Tissue (biology), tissues, especially the brain and spinal cord, and in Animal fat, animal fats and oils. Cholesterol is biosynthesis, biosynthesized by all anima ...

is known to be crucial in regulating the overall hedgehog pathway, and congenital mutations in cholesterol synthesis pathways can inactivate SMO specifically, leading to developmental disorders. For example,

oxysterol An oxysterol is a derivative of cholesterol obtained by Redox, oxidation involving enzymes and / or pro-oxidants. Such compounds play important roles in various biological processes such as cholesterol homeostasis, lipid metabolism (sphingolipids, ...

20(S)-OHC is known to activate vertebrate SMO by binding the cysteine rich domain near its extracellular amino-terminal region. In the context of cancer, 20(S)-OHC is the target of a proposed anti-cancer oxysterol binding inhibitor.

Agonists

* Smoothened agonist (SAG) * Purmorphamine * Oxysterols including 20(S)-OHC and 20(S)-yne

Antagonists

Cyclopamine Cyclopamine (11-deoxojervine) is a naturally occurring steroidal alkaloid. It is a teratogenic component of corn lily ('' Veratrum californicum''), which when consumed during gestation has been demonstrated to induce birth defects, including the ...

Itraconazole Itraconazole, sometimes abbreviated ITZ, is an antifungal medication used to treat a number of fungal infections. This includes aspergillosis, blastomycosis, coccidioidomycosis, histoplasmosis, and paracoccidioidomycosis. It may be given ...

* Vismodegib (Erivedge), a smoothened receptor inhibitor for the treatment of

, being investigated for the treatment of other types of cancer * SANT-1 * Sonidegib * PatidegibPatidegib
/ref> * Glasdegib * Jervine

References

External links

* * {{Hedgehog signaling pathway 7TM receptors Hedgehog signaling pathway