Fig. 1
From: The role of cancer-associated fibroblasts in esophageal cancer
Origin of CAFs. CAFs can derive from a variety of cells, including normal fibroblasts (NFs), bone marrow-derived cells (BMDCs), endothelial cells, hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), epithelial cells, pericytes and adipocytes. Previerous studies showed their nature to transform to CAF phenotype. TGF-β and microRNAs were reported as the drivers of this transformation