In accord with this, HSCs secretes collagen I in the presence of hepatoma cells.34 Because collagen Iα1 is a potent ligand of DDR1 receptor, it’s plausible to postulate that ECM remodeling featured with excessive collagen Iα1 elicits sustaining activation of DDR1 and metastatic colonization. Here, DDR1 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.