Fig. 4. Gα12/13-promoted stemness is a potential mechanism of cancer progression, metastasis and drug resistance in tumors.
Gα12/13 has been shown to drive both EMT-dependent and -independent mechanisms of cancer stem cells/tumor-initiating cells (CSCs/TICs) formations. Both proteins have also been reported to drive EMT and stemness in cancers through multiple signaling mechanisms. CSC-like phenotype induced by Gα12/13 can then contribute to multiple steps in cancer initiation and progression as shown in the figure. See text for details.