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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Oct 14.
Published in final edited form as: Oncogene. 2016 Feb 29;35(41):5337–5349. doi: 10.1038/onc.2016.34

Figure 2. Stromal compartment of the esophageal TME.

Figure 2

A. Neoplastic cells secrete growth factors to activate quiescient fibroblasts designated as cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs). CAFs can proliferate to contribute to desmoplasia, secreting extracellular matrix (ECM) components such as fibronectin (FN) to enhance the development of the primary tumor niche. CAFs also secrete cytokines that promote tumor cell survival (anti-apoptosis). B. Later in tumorigenesis, CAFs remodel the ECM with enzymes like lysyl oxidase (LOX) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) as well as ECM components like dermatan sulfate (DS) and hyaluronan (HA) to promote invasion. CAFs also secrete growth factors that trigger tumor cells to undergo epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and chemokines that induce tumor cell migration. CAFs can also promote angiogenesis via VEGF secretion.