Hedgehog ligand biogenesis

Despite divergent biological roles, all Hh ligands are subject to proteolytic processing and lipid modification during transit to the surface of the secreting cell (reviewed in Gallet, 2011). Precursor Hh undergoes autoproteolytic cleavage mediated by the C-terminal region to yield an amino-terminal peptide Hh-Np (also referred to as Hh-N). No other well defined role for the C-terminal region of Hh has been identified, and the secreted Hh-Np is responsible for all Hh signaling activity. Hh-Np is modified with cholesterol and palmitic acid during transit through the secretory system, and both modifications contribute to the activity of the ligand.

At the cell surface, Hh-Np remains associated with the secreting cell membrane by virtue of its lipid modifications, which promote clustering of Hh-Np into lipid rafts. Long range dispersal of Hh-Np depends on the untethering of the ligand from the membrane through a variety of mechanisms. These include release of monomers through the combined activity of the transmembrane protein Dispatched (DISP2) and the secreted protein SCUBE2, assembly into soluble multimers or apolipoprotein particles or release on the surface of exovesicles (Vyas et al, 2008; Tukachinsky et al, 2012; Chen 2004; Zeng et al, 2001; reviewed in Briscoe and Therond, 2013).