ArticleThe Journal of experimental medicine2020
Distinct fibroblast functional states drive clinical outcomes in ovarian cancer and are regulated by TCF21.
Article in The Journal of experimental medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 58 papers.
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Who cites it
58 citing papers in PubMed, 99 citations in OpenAlex.
- Tumour-Stroma Ratio and Platinum Resistance in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer: An Exploratory Analysis.Cancers · 2026Article
- Unraveling the roles of fibroblast activation protein‑positive cancer‑associated fibroblasts in cancer: From mechanisms to therapy (Review).International journal of oncology · 2026Review
- Systems-Level Mapping of the Tumor Microenvironment Reveals Immune-Mediated Mechanisms and Potential Targets in Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer.Research square · 2026Article
- A CAF-Associated Stromal Remodeling Signature Links Immune Exclusion to Exhaustion-Prone CD8International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Bidirectional crosstalk between cancer-associated fibroblasts and tumor immunity: shaping the microenvironment and response to immune checkpoint therapy.Experimental hematology & oncology · 2026Review
- Fibroblast Activation Protein Inhibitor (FAPI) PET: A Scoping Review of Emerging Oncologic and Fibroinflammatory Applications.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Decoding the CAF-TAM axis: multi-omics dissection and therapeutic targeting of stromal-immune crosstalk in the tumor microenvironment.Cell death & disease · 2026Review
- The Significance of the Heterogeneity of Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts in Tumor Microenvironments.Metabolites · 2026Review
- Mesothelial cells promote peritoneal invasion and metastasis of ascites-derived ovarian cancer cells through spheroid formation.Science advances · 2026Article
- The Role of Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts and Tumor-Associated Macrophages in the Tumor Microenvironment and Their Impact on Ovarian Cancer Survival and Therapy.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2026Review
- Modeling CAF-tumor interactions to overcome therapy resistance.Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR · 2026Review
- FGF7-FGFR2 Signaling Enhances Contractile Activation of CAFs in Ovarian Cancer: Integrative Single-Cell and Spatial Transcriptomics.Journal of inflammation research · 2026Article
- Diversity within ovarian cancer subtypes and their tumor microenvironment.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Review
- Cancer-associated fibroblasts are associated with neo-adjuvant treatment response in oesophageal adenocarcinoma.British journal of cancer · 2025Article
- Tcf21 modulates fibroblast activation and promotes cardiac fibrosis after injury via Pdgfrb signaling.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Cancer-associated fibroblasts in ovarian cancer: research progress.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Review
- Molecular and functional profiling of primary normal ovarian cells defines insights into cancer development and drug responses.Molecular therapy. Oncology · 2024Article
- Clinical applications of fibroblast activation protein inhibitor positron emission tomography (FAPI-PET).Npj imaging · 2024Review
- Reprogramming of normal fibroblasts into ovarian cancer-associated fibroblasts via non-vesicular paracrine signaling induces an activated fibroblast phenotype.Biochimica et biophysica acta. Molecular cell research · 2024Article
- Transcriptome profiling and characterization of peritoneal metastasis ovarian cancer xenografts in humanized mice.Scientific reports · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
15 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Recent studies indicate that cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are phenotypically and functionally heterogeneous. However, little is known about CAF subtypes, the roles they play in cancer progression, and molecular mediators of the CAF "state." Here, we identify a novel cell surface pan-CAF marker, CD49e, and demonstrate that two distinct CAF states, distinguished by expression of fibroblast activation protein (FAP), coexist within the CD49e+ CAF compartment in high-grade serous ovarian cancers. We show for the first time that CAF state influences patient outcomes and that this is mediated by the ability of FAP-high, but not FAP-low, CAFs to aggressively promote proliferation, invasion and therapy resistance of cancer cells. Overexpression of the FAP-low-specific transcription factor TCF21 in FAP-high CAFs decreases their ability to promote invasion, chemoresistance, and in vivo tumor growth, indicating that it acts as a master regulator of the CAF state. Understanding CAF states in more detail could lead to better patient stratification and novel therapeutic strategies.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.