Epithelial–mesenchymal transitions in development and pathologies

JP Thiery - Current opinion in cell biology, 2003 - Elsevier
Current opinion in cell biology, 2003Elsevier
The epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a fundamental process governing
morphogenesis in multicellular organisms. This process is also reactivated in a variety of
diseases including fibrosis and in the progression of carcinoma. The molecular mechanisms
of EMT were primarily studied in epithelial cell lines, leading to the discovery of transduction
pathways involved in the loss of epithelial cell polarity and the acquisition of a variety of
mesenchymal phenotypic traits. Similar mechanisms have also been uncovered in vivo in …
The epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a fundamental process governing morphogenesis in multicellular organisms. This process is also reactivated in a variety of diseases including fibrosis and in the progression of carcinoma. The molecular mechanisms of EMT were primarily studied in epithelial cell lines, leading to the discovery of transduction pathways involved in the loss of epithelial cell polarity and the acquisition of a variety of mesenchymal phenotypic traits. Similar mechanisms have also been uncovered in vivo in different species, showing that EMT is controlled by remarkably well-conserved mechanisms. Current studies further emphasise the critical importance of EMT and provide a better molecular and functional definition of mesenchymal cells and how they emerged >500 million years ago as a key event in evolution.
Elsevier