CCN2 and breast cancer: For example, the TGFβ-Smad pathway induces the expression of interleukin-11 (IL-11), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) [3], angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4) [60], and cut-like homeobox 1 (CUTL1) [61] to promote breast cancer invasion and metastasis.