Figure 1.
Breast cancer transfer normal fibroblasts (NFs) to cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) through secreting molecules including IL-6, TNF-α, PDGF α/β, OPN, HMGB1 and extracellular vesicles (EVs). Activated CAFs express classic biomarkers like α-SMA, tenascin-C, NG2, S100A4, PDGFR α/β, FAP and podoplanin.