PLAU and cancer: Moreover, the plasminogen activator-urokinase (PLAU) and cyclophilin A (PPIA) signaling nodes, which promote EMT in tumor cells and fibrosis in CAFs35–37, were enriched between cancer epithelial cells (receptors) and both monocyte/macrophage and CAFs (ligands) in the older cohort (Fig. 6a and Supplementary Fig. 4).