YAP1 overexpression is associated with poor prognosis of breast cancer patients and induces breast cancer cell growth by inhibiting PTEN

YES‐associated protein 1 (YAP1) plays a key role as a transcriptional coactivator in the Hippo tumor suppressor pathway. YAP1 is overexpressed in a variety of cancers and is considered to be encoded by a proto‐oncogene. However, the role of YAP1 remains debatable, because both gain and loss of YAP1 expression have both been reported in breast cancer (BC). Here, we found that elevated expression of YAP1 mRNA in BC was negatively correlated with relapse‐free, distant metastases‐free and overall survival rates. We then knocked down or overexpressed YAP1 in human BC cells, and examined cell proliferation, apoptosis, and tumorigenic ability in vivo. We identified that YAP1 promotes cell growth and inhibits cell apoptosis of BC through the phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10–AKT signaling pathway, and thus suggest that YAP1 might serve as a new target for inhibiting BC progression.