Aspirin attenuates YAP and β-catenin expression by promoting β-TrCP to overcome docetaxel and vinorelbine resistance in triple-negative breast cancer.

The use of aspirin has been associated with reduced breast cancer risk, but it is litter known if aspirin overcomes chemoresistance in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Herein, we demonstrated that changes in the expression of Yes-associated protein (YAP) and β-catenin might be a promising predictive biomarker for neoadjuvant chemotherapy sensitivity in TNBC patients. Inhibition of YAP or β-catenin enhanced the cytotoxicity of the anti-microtubule agents docetaxel and vinorelbine against drug-resistant TNBC cells as well as the sensitivity of these cells to the agents in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, aspirin not only significantly inhibited the growth of TNBC cells, but also attenuated YAP and β-catenin expression by upregulating the E3 ubiquitin ligase β-TrCP to abolished docetaxel and vinorelbine resistance. The combination of aspirin and docetaxel or vinorelbine remarkably inhibited the growth of drug-resistant TNBC cells in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, TNBC patients with high YAP and/or β-catenin expression had a higher risk of relapse or mortality than patients with low YAP and/or β-catenin expression. Collectively, our study discovered a novel role of aspirin based on its anticancer effect, and put forward some possible mechanisms of chemoresistance in TNBC. The combined use of aspirin and anti-microtubule drugs presented several promising therapeutic approaches for TNBC treatment.