TAZ is required for metastatic activity and chemoresistance of breast cancer stem cells

Metastatic growth in breast cancer (BC) has been proposed as an exclusive property of cancer stem cells (CSCs). However, formal proof of their identity as cells of origin of recurrences at distant sites and the molecular events that may contribute to tumor cell dissemination and metastasis development are yet to be elucidated. In this study, we analyzed a set of patient-derived breast cancer stem cell (BCSC) lines. We found that in vitro BCSCs exhibit a higher chemoresistance and migratory potential when compared with differentiated, nontumorigenic, breast cancer cells (dBCCs). By developing an in vivo metastatic model simulating the disease of patients with early BC, we observed that BCSCs…