As a recent example of the functional significance of ECM-related proteins in breast cancer CAFs, siRNA-based knockdown of the endocytic receptor uPARAP (Endo180), which endocytoses both native and denatured collagens, in mouse mammary tumor TGF-β-inducible CAFs, resulted in reduced CAF viability and contraction and limited mammary tumor growth and metastasis (Jungwirth et al. 2021). This evidence concerns the gene MRC2 and breast carcinoma.