Fig. 3
From: The relationship between previous pulmonary tuberculosis and risk of lung cancer in the future
The role of COX-2 in tumorigenesis. COX-2 is induced in the DC cells and monocytes infected with M.tb. On the one hand, promotion of tumor metastasis of COX-2 depends on the p-Akt-NF-κB pathway affecting the activity of MMP-9. On the other hand, up-regulation of COX-2 can increase BCL-2 synthesis to inhibit apoptosis, and BCL-2 inhibits mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis pathway, mitochondrial dysfunction aggravates DNA damage, which further promotes cell mitosis and tumorigenesis