In a preclinical model of gastric cancer, it was shown that TGFβ and increased SMAD protein activity (driving the expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin/αSMA) provide CAF with a highly contractile phenotype (myofibroblast/αSMA+ fibroblast) that induced tumour cell invasion of the ECM and lymphatic vessels [110]. Here, ACTA1 is linked to gastric cancer.