Immunohistochemical staining for CD31 further confirmed a positive correlation between Zeb1/NICD expression and breast cancer angiogenesis (Supplementary Fig. 13), which is consistent with previous findings that high-grade tumors and TNBCs are often enriched with abundant CSC populations and are correlated with increased tumor angiogenesis21,22,31,34. This evidence concerns the gene ZEB1 and breast carcinoma.