Luciferase Reporter Assays to Determine YAP/TAZ Activity in Mammalian Cells

Abstract

This chapter describes the luciferase assays that are available to monitor YAP/TAZ activity in cell lines and to study their regulation, including the choice for the normalizer, a description of the main YAP-/TAZ-responsive luciferase reporters used so far by the community, and technical notes and experimental considerations on the most appropriate positive controls. Some specific examples are provided to use luciferase assays as the basis to distinguish between Hippo-mediated and phosphorylation-mediated regulatory events and regulatory events that regulate YAP/TAZ independent of these inputs. Finally, typical experimental protocols are outlined briefly for an easier setup of YAP/TAZ luciferase assays.