ACTA1 and colorectal carcinoma: We found that after treating the human HSC cells (LX-2) with the CRC cells (HCT-116, LOVO) conditioned medium, the morphology of LX-2 cells were changed (Fig. 1B) and the expressions of CAF markers including alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and fibroblast activation protein (FAP) were significantly increased (Fig. 1C).