ESRP1 and neoplasm: Integrin α6β1 drives TNBC tumor initiation by mediating the activation of autocrine signals (Goel et al., 2013), while the autocrine VEGF signaling pathway maintains the expression of the α6B variant by inhibiting the splicing factor ESRP1, thereby maintaining tumor stem cells and promoting tumor formation (Goel et al., 2014).