Cell adhesion molecule CD44v10 promotes stem-like properties in triple-negative breast cancer cells via glucose transporter GLUT1-mediated glycolysis

Cell adhesion molecule CD44v8-10 is associated with tumor ste0mness and malignancy; however, whether CD44v10 alone confers these properties is unknown. Here, we demonstrated that CD44v10 promotes stemness and chemoresistance of triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) individually. Next, we identified that genes differentially expressed in response to ectopic expression of CD44v10 are mostly related to glycolysis. Further, we showed that CD44v10 upregulates glucose transporter 1 to facilitate glycolysis by activating the MAPK/ERK and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways. This glycolytic reprogramming induced by CD44v10 contributes to the stem-like properties of TNBC cells and confers resistance to paclitaxel treatment. Notably, we determined that the knockdown of glucose transporter 1 could attenuate the enhanced effects of CD44v10 on glycolysis, stemness, and paclitaxel resistance. Collectively, our findings provide novel insights into the function of CD44v10 in TNBCs and suggest that targeting CD44v10 may contribute to future clinical therapy.