Figure 2.

Key Figure: Cancer Phenotypes Supervene Upon Heterocellular Signaling.

(A) Heterotypic cell types can differentially process and interpret signals. In isolation each cell type is limited to its own homocellular signaling potential. (B) When diverse cell types are allowed to interact with one another, a heterocellular system is formed. This increased signal-processing capacity allows heterocellular systems to achieve new phenotypes that each cell type cannot accomplish in isolation. (C) Homocellular interactions can produce simple emergent phenotypes (e.g., an epithelium). However, the increased signal-processing diversity provided by heterocellular interactions can produce more-complex phenotypes (e.g., an epithelium with adaptive immune surveillance). (D) Emergent ontology model of heterocellular cancer. As heterocellular interactions increase, malignant phenotypes emerge from increased signaling options.