Epithelial–mesenchymal transitions in development and pathologies

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 epithel...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current opinion in cell biology 2003-12, Vol.15 (6), p.740-746
Main Author: Thiery, Jean Paul
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Carcinoma - pathology
Cell Line
Epithelial Cells - pathology
Epithelium - pathology
GTP Phosphohydrolases - metabolism
Humans
Mesoderm - pathology
Models, Biological
Morphogenesis
Phenotype
Protein-Tyrosine Kinases - metabolism
Signal Transduction
Transcription, Genetic
Transforming Growth Factor beta - metabolism
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Summary: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.
ISSN:0955-0674
1879-0410
DOI:10.1016/j.ceb.2003.10.006