Fig 1.
Context-dependent crosstalk between cancer associated fibroblasts and the tumor microenvironment.
A. Lung tumor with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, with myofibroblast-like cancer-associated fibroblasts (myCAFs) adjacent to the tumor and inflammatory CAFs (iCAFs) at the tumor periphery. B. Pancreatic tumor with antigen-presenting CAFs (apCAFs) interacting with macrophages through direct cell–cell communication and secreted factors, promoting their polarization into a pro-inflammatory phenotype. C. Pancreatic tumor, dense with myCAFs adjacent to tumor cells, with a remodeled extracellular matrix that forms a physical barrier, impeding T cell infiltration and contributing to an immune-excluded phenotype. Created in BioRender.