Upregulated Vav2 signaling promotes regenerative proliferation in squamous cell carcinoma

Stem cell-like regenerative proliferation and undifferentiation cause poor prognosis in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Despite this, the signaling events driving to those traits remain ill-characterized. We report here that VAV2, an enzyme involved in RHO GTPase activation, becomes frequently upregulated in cutaneous and head-and-neck SCC, where it orchestrates a stem cell-like regenerative state. Dorsal skin of 6-8 week old WT (n = 3) and Vav2Onc (n = 3) mice