The co-transcription factors YAP/TAZ are potent inducers of tissue and organ growth during development and tissue regeneration after damage. In this work we have expanded on the repertoire of YAP/TAZ regulations and on their biological properties. We found that these are regulated by the mechanical properties of the microenvironement and by the Wnt signaling cascade. The latter is induced by mutations in the tumor suppressor APC, a hallmark of intestinal cancer, and here we show that this is accompanied by YAP/TAZ stabilization and is functional for transformation of intestinal cells. Both the mechanical and Wnt regulations have been published (Azzolin et al., 2014; Aragona et al., 2013). Aberrant YAP/TAZ activation is known to be associated to tissue overgrowth, tumorigenesis and acquisition of cancer stem cell traits. Here we explore the role of YAP/TAZ as key factors in somatic stem cell self-renewal and somatic cell plasticity (unpublished).