Prostate tumour overexpressed-1 promotes tumourigenicity in human breast cancer via activation of Wnt/β-catenin signalling

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in females. The presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) is the main cause of local and distant tumour recurrence and is associated with poor outcome in breast cancer. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the maintenance of CSCs remain largely unknown. This study demonstrates that prostate tumour overexpressed‐1 (PTOV1) enhances the CSC population and augments the tumourigenicity of breast cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, PTOV1 suppresses transcription of Dickkopf‐1 (DKK1) by recruiting histone deacetylases and subsequently reducing DKK1 promoter histone acetylation, followed by activation of Wnt/β‐catenin signalling. Restoration of DKK1 expression in PTOV1‐overexpressing cells counteracts the effects of PTOV1 on Wnt/β‐catenin activation and the CSC population. Collectively, these results suggest that PTOV1 positively regulates the Wnt/β‐catenin signalling pathway and enhances tumourigenicity in breast cancer; this novel mechanism may represent a therapeutic target for breast cancer. Copyright © 2016 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.