The Hippo effector TAZ promotes cancer stemness by transcriptional activation of SOX2 in head neck squamous cell carcinoma.

ABSTRACT: The Hippo-TAZ signaling has emerged as a fundamental regulator underlying cancer stem cells (CSCs) stemness which intricately associates with local recurrence and metastatic spreading in head neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). However, the precise downstream targets of TAZ responsible for HNSCC CSCs maintenance remain largely underexplored. Here, we identified Sex determining region Y box 2 (SOX2) as a putative downstream target of TAZ to promote CSCs maintenance and tumorigenicity in HNSCC. Both TAZ and SOX2 were significantly enriched in CSCs subpopulation (CD44⁺CD133⁺) isolated from Cal27 and Fadu cells via fluorescence-activated cell sorting. TAZ knockdown significantly reduced expression of SOX2 at both mRNA and protein levels, whereas its ectopic overexpressi

SUBMITTER: Li J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6689034 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature