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Fig. 3 | Stem Cell Research & Therapy

Fig. 3

From: Characteristics of the cancer stem cell niche and therapeutic strategies

Fig. 3

EMT and CSC niche. The crucial events in EMT are the dissolution of the epithelial cell–cell junctions, which include tight junction, adherens junction, desmosomes and gap junction. In CSC niche, those junctions start to break down via the induction of hypoxia, transcription factors, growth factors and cytokines. Then, the cells switch to a spindle-shaped mesenchymal morphology, as well as express markers (N-cadherin, vimentin and fibronectin) which would help to maintain the mesenchymal cell state

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