Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in cancer: complexity and opportunities
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11684_2018_Article_656.pdf
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Author(s)
Zhang, Yun
Weinberg, Robert A
Date Issued
July 2018
Journal
Frontiers of Medicine
Publisher
Higher Education Press
Citation
Zhang, Yun, and Robert A. Weinberg. “Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Cancer: Complexity and Opportunities.” Frontiers of Medicine 12, 4 (July 2018): 361–373 © 2018 The Author(s)
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
The cell-biological program termed the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays an important role in both development and cancer progression. Depending on the contextual signals and intracellular gene circuits of a particular cell, this program can drive fully epithelial cells to enter into a series of phenotypic states arrayed along the epithelial-mesenchymal phenotypic axis. These cell states display distinctive cellular characteristics, including stemness, invasiveness, drug-resistance and the ability to form metastases at distant organs, and thereby contribute to cancer metastasis and relapse. Currently we still lack a coherent overview of the molecular and biochemical mechanisms inducing cells to enter various states along the epithelial-mesenchymal phenotypic spectrum. An improved understanding of the dynamic and plastic nature of the EMT program has the potential to yield novel therapies targeting this cellular program that may aid in the management of high-grade malignancies.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology
Ludwig Center for Molecular Oncology (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
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Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11684-018-0656-6
