# The role of TAZ in breast cancer initiation and progression

> **NIH NIH R01** · ROSWELL PARK CANCER INSTITUTE CORP · 2020 · $397,031

## Abstract

About 10-20% of breast cancers are triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) that have poorer outcomes and
higher risk of recurrence compared to other breast cancer types. It is known that the mRNA and protein levels
of TAZ (transcriptional co-activator with PDZ-binding motif) are preferentially higher in TNBC than in other
breast cancer (BC) subclasses. Activation of TAZ has been correlated with high histological grade, conferral of
breast cancer stem cell (CSC) traits, enhanced tumor metastasis, and poor outcome in BC patients. There is a
fundamental gap in understanding how activation of TAZ contributes to tumor relapse and metastasis in TNBC
patients. The continued existence of this gap represents an important problem because, until it is filled, it will
be impossible to devise rational therapeutic approaches to help improve breast cancer patient survival. The
long-term goal is to reduce morbidity in TNBC patients and help improve breast cancer patient survival. The
overall objective of this application is to understand the molecular mechanisms by which TAZ initiates breast
tumor progression and metastasis. The central hypothesis is that both TAZ-initiated promotion of cell cycle
activity and expansion of transformed mammary stem cell (Ma-SC) populations are required for TAZ-initiated
breast tumorigenesis. Our hypothesis has been formulated on the basis of our own preliminary data. The
rationale for the proposed research is that once it is known how activation of TAZ initiates TNBC progression
and metastasis, it will be possible to develop new and innovative approaches for treating TNBCs. To this end,
we propose the following aims: (1) identify the critical downstream targets that are required for TAZ to initiate
breast cancer progression; (2) determine how TAZ induces the formation of heterogeneous mammary tumors
using a unique TAZ transgenic mouse model; and (3) determine the role of TAZ in breast tumor heterogeneity
and its impact on tumor metastasis. As the outcome of this study, we expect to identify the critical targets of
TAZ that are responsible for TAZ-initiated breast tumor progression and metastasis as well as to establish a
well-characterized TAZ transgenic mouse model. Such results are expected to vertically advance our
understanding of how TAZ activation contributes to TNBC relapse.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9957026
- **Project number:** 5R01CA207504-04
- **Recipient organization:** ROSWELL PARK CANCER INSTITUTE CORP
- **Principal Investigator:** Jianmin Zhang
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $397,031
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-07-01 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9957026

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9957026, The role of TAZ in breast cancer initiation and progression (5R01CA207504-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9957026. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*