Danfeng Cai, Ph.D.

The Cai lab will focus on understanding how transcription process is dynamically regulated in normal and cancer cells. We have discovered that Yes-associated protein (YAP), a transcription coactivator and important oncoprotein, forms liquid-like condensates in the nucleus to activate transcription (Cai et al, Nature Cell Biology 2019). Our result is consistent with a new view of how transcription machinery is organized in the nucleus, as a dynamic compartment formed by weak interactions, capable of providing force to remodel chromatin structure.

We will continue to investigate the pathways regulating YAP condensate formation, and how these condensates influence local chromatin structure and transcriptional activity. We will use a cutting-edge super resolution technique to visualize accessible chromatin domain changes during YAP condensate formation, and live-cell imaging to observe YAP downstream transcription changes. Our study will have implications for future cancer therapies, as YAP is over-expressed in many cancers, and YAP condensates in cancer cells are linked with malignancy. Therefore, the thorough characterization of these condensates by our laboratory will give valuable information about how these condensates are regulated in normal and pathological states, and how they could be targeted in hope of treating cancer.