Fig. 2
From: Targeting extracellular matrix stiffness and mechanotransducers to improve cancer therapy
Regulation of tumor angiogenesis, growth, metastasis, immune evasion and drug resistance by ECM stiffness. ECM stiffening-induced mechanical cues drive tumor cells proliferation, CAFs/stellate cells autophagy and endothelial cells growth, thereby stimulating angiogenesis and tumor growth. ECM stiffening also promotes cancer metastasis by inducing EMT and cancer cells migration. The promotion of macrophage polarization and T cells exhaustion by ECM stiffening contributes to immune evasion in cancer