epithelial mesenchymal transition; epithelial mesenchymal transformation (EMT)

Function

• program of development of biological cells characterized by
  • loss of cell adhesion
  • increased cell mobility
• essential for developmental processes including
  • mesoderm formation
  • neural tube formation
• characteristic feature of cells undergoing proliferation; cells expanding in-vitro assume mesenchymal phenotype

Pathology

• cancer metastasis has phenotypic similarities to EMT, including:
  • loss of cell-cell adhesion mediated by repression of E-cadherin
  • an increase in cell mobility

Biochemistry

• repression of E-cadherin expression
• induced by peptide growth factors, Src, Ras, Ets, integrin, Wnt/beta-catenin, Notch, Twist, FOXC2
• Snail & Slug are transcriptional repressors of E-cadherin & their expression induces EMT
• induced by collagen type 1, mediated by integrin alpha1-beta2
• as cells assume a more mesenchymal phenotype, expression of osteopontin & collagen type 1 are increased