CCN2 and malignant colon neoplasm: In HCT15 colorectal cells, knockdown of PODXL reduced the expression of TAZ protein, its downstream targets survivin, connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), CYR61 and cyclinD1, and stem-cell-related genes, as well as tumorsphere formation, indicating that PODXL plays a crucial role in self-renewal of colon cancer cells [54].