To determine the underlying signaling pathways mediating the stimulatory effects of TFAP2C on chemoresistance and stemness in CRC cells, luciferase reporter plasmids of multiple signaling pathways were transfected into CRC cells respectively, and we found that transcriptional activity of TEAD, the transcriptional co-activators of Hippo signaling pathway, was the most highly regulated by upregulation of TFAP2C, but silenced by downregulation of TFAP2C in CRC cells (Additional file 11: Figure S6A). Here, TFAP2C is linked to colorectal carcinoma.