Fig. 1.

Overview of the complex interplay between the roles of Lox in tumor microenvironment rigidity and cancer development. Lox with increase in collagen fiber cross-linking and ECM rigidity upregulates integrin signaling pathways to increase tumor cell invasive capacity. Moreover, Lox with activation of MAPK complex, phosphorylation of ERK and Akt, and stimulation of PDGFRβ induces EMT, angiogenesis, and cancer development. Also, Lox expression can be induced by HIF-1α and TGF-β/Smad which leads to cancer progression. ECM, extracellular matrix; Lox, lysyl oxidase; PDGFRβ, platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta; EMT, epithelial-mesenchymal transition; TGF-β, transforming growth factor β; Col, collagen; MAPK, mitogen-activated protein kinase.