SOX2 and neoplasm: Similarly, another group identified a unique, highly rigid, matricellular-stromal (also described as mesenchymal-like) phenotype in PDAC (linked to integrins, YAP, and SOX2) that results in reduced epithelial TGF-β signaling and elevated tumor cell contractility as well as tumor progression and aggression (Laklai et al., 2016).