Fig. 3

Hippo pathway-mediated intercellular communications during development. The Hippo pathway contributes to cell differentiation from the eight-cell stage by being activated in cells with pluripotent inner cell mass (ICM) but not in cells of multipotent trophectoderm (TE) lineages. Subsequently, cells with high Hippo pathway activity are eliminated by apoptosis, owing to cell competitive mechanisms at the blastocyst stage, selecting highly pluripotent cells in the ICM. Between E6.5 and E8.5, YAP mRNA expression remains high, although its precise functions remain to be elucidated. YAP activity is associated with vascularization, morphogenesis, cell proliferation, and organogenesis in multiple organs