Fig. 2
From: Vasculogenic mimicry in carcinogenesis and clinical applications
(1) Tumor microenvironment and VM: TAFs (tumor-associated fibroblasts) promote VM formation through secreting TGF-β and SDF-1, and TAMs (tumor-associated macrophages) promote VM formation by amplifying IL-6and TGF-β secretion. (2) The process of EMT participating in the VM formation: epithelial cells are transformed into mesenchymal phenotype cells by specific procedures, including reduction of expression of cell adhesion molecules (such as E-cadherin) and some upregulated proteins (such as VE-cadherin-biomarker of VM).