Fig. 8. HAPLN1 drives peritoneal carcinomatosis by inducing cell plasticity.

We propose that in HAPLN1 low conditions tumor cells are less equipped to survive in the peritoneal cavity due to a decreased migratory capacity and a tumoricidal environment. When HAPLN1 expression increases, cells become more plastic, increasing invasiveness and preconditioning the peritoneal cavity for an increased tolerance of invading tumor cells.