VIM and cancer: Platelets release mediators such as PDGF, TGF-β, and PGE2, which promote EMT, that endows cancer cells with mesenchymal markers like vimentin and fibronectin and transcription factors such as Twist, Snail, and Zeb while downregulating epithelial markers like E-cadherin, thereby enabling these cells to acquire migratory properties and colonize distant organs (Kalluri and Weinberg, 2009).