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. 2022 Apr 21;13(4):394. doi: 10.1038/s41419-022-04848-z

Fig. 4. The inflammatory cytokine tumor microenvironment promotes retrodifferentiation and cancer stemness maintenance in liver cancers.

Fig. 4

The process of retrodifferentiation includes EMT and metabolic reprogramming of non-CSC cells. Additionally, activation of PKA can induce MET in CSCs and lead to the loss of tumor-initiating ability in CSCs. CSCs cancer stem cells, EMT epithelial–mesenchymal transition, MET mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition, CAFs cancer-associated fibroblasts, TANs tumor-associated neutrophils, TAMs tumor-associated macrophages, HSCs hepatic stellate cells, MDSCs myeloid-derived suppressor cells, PKA protein kinase A.