Re-evaluating the role of epithelial-mesenchymal-transition in cancer progression

• 来源期刊: 生物医学研究杂志（英文版）
• 学科: 医学
• 年，卷（期）: 2018,（2）
• 页码范围: 81-90
• 页数: 10页
• 分类号: R737.9
• 语种: 英文

摘要

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) are essential for embryonic development and also important in cancer progression.In a conventional model,epithelial-like cancer cells transit to mesenchymal-like tumor cells with great motility via EMT transcription factors;these mesenchymallike cells migrate through the circulation system,relocate to a suitable site and then convert back to an epithelial-like phenotype to regenerate the tumor.However,recent findings challenge this conventional model and support the existence of a stable hybrid epitheliai/mesenchymal (E/M) tumor population.Hybrid E/M tumor cells exhibit both epithelial and mesenchymal properties,possess great metastatic and tumorigenic capacity and are associated with poorer patient prognosis.The hybrid E/M model and associated regulatory networks represent a conceptual change regarding tumor metastasis and organ colonization.It may lead to the development of novel treatment strategies to ultimately stop cancer progression and improve disease-free survival.