Key players in pancreatic cancer-stroma interaction: Cancer-associated fibroblasts, endothelial and inflammatory cells

Figure 2 Cellular sources to cancer-associated fibroblasts in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) constitute the most important cellular source of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in pancreatic cancer. In the normal pancreas, quiescent PSCs (qPSCs) have a periacinar location. When activated by cytokines or oxidative stress, they develop a myofibroblast-like phenotype. Resident periductal and interlobular fibroblasts can also contribute to the CAF population. Moreover, several studies have indicated that bone marrow-derived cells (BMDCs) are recruited to the pancreas during tissue injury, where they gain CAF-like properties. It could also be speculated that epithelial cells, through epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), could be a source of CAFs.