Dear colleagues,

I am going to identify myofibroblasts (CAFs) in breast tumors (FFPE samples) by confocal microscopy, but I am confused a little bit about what markers should I use? As I understood, aSMA is acceptable and common marker of myofibroblasts, however it is also expressed in smooth muscle cells. So, I should select the second marker, which can identify myofibroblasts. But in literature, there are a lot of different markers, for example FSP-1, FAP, PDGFR-α, PDGFR-β, vimentin, endosialin etc., and each research group uses own markers. In addition, some authors report that some of the above mentioned markers can identify specific groups of myofibroblasts, whereas I would like to analyse myofibroblasts in general (that is, the common population of myofibroblasts).

Thank you in advance for your suggestions!