MMP3 and cancer: For CAF activation, there was an upregulation of expression in certain metal matrix proteases like MMP3, MMP10, and MMP1, while mCAF expressed high levels of genes involved in pathways crucial for cancer initiation and progression, including extracellular matrix remodeling genes (COL1A1, COL4A2) and genes involved in hypoxia regulation (HIF1A, LDHB) (Fig. 4C, D).