Collagen is a dynamic component of both the tumor and metastatic niche. Here, the authors show that airway smooth muscle cells are a collagen III rich niche bladder cancer cells expressing CD167a, and Stat3 is a downstream target for abrogating these collagen III/CD167a-driven metastatic foci.
- Yu-Cheng Lee
- Antonina V. Kurtova
- Keith Syson Chan