In the stromal compartment, phosphorylation of PCNA at Y211 in fibroblasts drives secretion of cytokines such as transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) and C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 12 (CXCL12), which enhance cancer stemness and invasion potential (Wang et al., 2022). The gene discussed is CXCL12; the disease is cancer.