In breast cancer cells, the ABL kinases activated the transcriptional
coactivator TAZ and the transcription factor STAT5, which triggered the transcription of genes encoding factors that activate osteoclasts (cells that break down bone) and those that enhance the survival of breast cancer cells in the bone microenvironment.
Among transcripts that were decreased in ABL1 / ABL2 knockdown cells were
TAZ [also known as WWTR1 (WW domain — containing transcription regulator protein 1)-RSB-, which encodes a transcriptional
coactivator in the Hippo pathway, and STAT5A, which encodes a transcription factor (Fig. 6C).