Fig. 8

Schematic illustration visualizing the molecular mechanism of circNOX4 in activated fibroblast niche formation and NSCLC metastasis. The proposed model indicates circNOX4 is back-spliced by exons 6–11 of the NOX4 gene. The circNOX4/miR-329-5p/FAP ceRNA network in the cytoplasm reprograms the CAF phenotype and establishes an inflammatory fibroblast niche via secreting IL-6, ultimately resulting in the progression and metastasis of NSCLC