Research Paper Volume 16, Issue 2 pp 1620—1639
PROX1 interaction with α-SMA-rich cancer-associated fibroblasts facilitates colorectal cancer progression and correlates with poor clinical outcomes and therapeutic resistance
Figure 6. PROX1 inhibition prevented cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF) transformation. (A) Representative immunofluorescence images of CAFs transformed by PROX1 inhibition in HCT116 and SW620 cells. Reduced expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) was observed. PROX1-inhibited cells in the presence of condition medium (CM) showed reduced migratory (B) and tumor sphere-generating abilities (C). (D) Western blot analysis demonstrated the expressions of the oncogenic markers, stemness markers, CAFs markers (α-SMA), and PROX1, in PROX1-inhibited and control samples under the influence of CM. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.