TABLE 1.

A summary of factors and genes in myofibroblast expansion.

Factors	Representative genes/Pathway	Action
Fibroblast and transforming growth factor signals	FGFs, EGFs, and wnt/β-catenin pathway	Initiates EMT
Changes in ECM stiffness (COL, MMP deposition)	Integrin activation	Transition from proto- to myofibroblast
Mesenchymal transcription factors	Snail, slug, and twist	Reprogram epigenome: repress epithelial genes and stimulate mesenchymal genes
Master transcription factors	ETS2, HNF4a, JUNB, NFκB	Control partial-EMT state
Superenhancers	BRD4	Control expression of gene regulatory networks specifying cell identity