Fig. 1: Hyperactivating TAZ promotes GBM MES transition and tumor necrosis.

a The TCGA GBM dataset (Provisional, n = 540 tumors) was grouped into proneural (PN; n = 166 tumors), classical (CL; n = 204 tumors) and mesenchymal (MES; n = 170 tumors) subtypes as defined previously⁷⁹. TAZ expression in each subtype was examined through cBioPortal using U133 microarray only. The z-score threshold was ± 1. b Kaplan–Meier survival curves of mice implanted with LN229 cells stably transduced with empty vector control (n = 4 mice), TAZ^4SA (n = 13 mice), or TAZ^4SA-S51A (n = 6 mice). Two-sided log-rank test. c Immunoblot of MES markers, including Fibronectin 1, CD44, and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in whole-tumor lysates obtained from mice implanted with LN229^parental (n = 1 tumor), LN229^vector (n = 1 tumor), LN229^TAZ(4SA) (n = 3 tumors), or LN229^{TAZ(4SA-S51A)} (n = 2 tumors). d Representative H&E-stained formaldehyde-fixed paraffin-embedded sections obtained from mice implanted with LN229^vector (n = 6 tumors), LN229^TAZ(4SA) (n = 5 tumors), or LN229^{TAZ(4SA-S51A)} (n = 3 tumors) reaching endpoints at low (left) and high (right) magnifications. Indicated numbers of animals (n) from each condition were examined independently with consistent observations. e Representative H&E-stained formaldehyde-fixed paraffin-embedded section of a typical LN229^TAZ(4SA) tumor-bearing brain with clear central tumor necrosis (denoted by N) and cellular tumor (denoted by CT). n = 5 tumors. The number of animals examined independently in each condition is listed above; observations were consistent within each group. f Necrosis-to-tumor area ratios comparison among mice implanted with LN229^vector (n = 6 tumors), LN229^TAZ(4SA) (n = 5 tumors), or LN229^{TAZ(4SA-S51A)} (n = 3 tumors) using 3–4 step H&E-stained sections (each 50 μm apart) obtained from the same tumor; the average of these ratios was used to represent each tumor. Numerical data are presented as mean ± s.e.m. Each data point represents an animal. Ordinary one-way ANOVA. All scale bars are in μm. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.