Revisiting epithelial-mesenchymal transition in cancer metastasis: the connection between epithelial plasticity and stemness.
Revisiting epithelial-mesenchymal transition in cancer metastasis: the connection between epithelial plasticity and stemness.
复制标题
DOI：
10.1002/1878-0261.12096
复制
发表时间：
2017-07
影响因子：
6.6
通讯作者：
Yang MH
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Liao TT;Yang MH
上皮-间质转化（EMT）是胚胎发育、纤维化和癌症转移的重要过程。在癌症进展过程中，EMT的激活允许癌细胞获得迁移，侵袭和干细胞样特性。越来越多的证据支持EMT和癌症之间的关键联系。然而，矛盾的结果表明，EMT的抑制也促进了癌症的干细胞性，并且间充质-上皮转化（EMT的逆转过程）与转移性定植所需的肿瘤起始能力相关。“中间状态EMT”的概念为这种相互矛盾的证据提供了一种可能的解释。此外，最近的研究表明，“杂交”上皮-间充质细胞的出现有利于转移的建立。总之，在临床环境中，肿瘤更有可能发生上皮和间充质状态之间的动态变化或可塑性，而不是固定的表型。需要进一步研究旨在验证和巩固中间状态EMT和杂交肿瘤的概念，以建立癌症转移的综合特征。
Epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) is an important process in embryonic development, fibrosis, and cancer metastasis. During cancer progression, the activation of EMT permits cancer cells to acquire migratory, invasive, and stem‐like properties. A growing body of evidence supports the critical link between EMT and cancer stemness. However, contradictory results have indicated that the inhibition of EMT also promotes cancer stemness, and that mesenchymal‐epithelial transition, the reverse process of EMT, is associated with the tumor‐initiating ability required for metastatic colonization. The concept of ‘intermediate‐state EMT’ provides a possible explanation for this conflicting evidence. In addition, recent studies have indicated that the appearance of ‘hybrid’ epithelial‐mesenchymal cells is favorable for the establishment of metastasis. In summary, dynamic changes or plasticity between the epithelial and the mesenchymal states rather than a fixed phenotype is more likely to occur in tumors in the clinical setting. Further studies aimed at validating and consolidating the concept of intermediate‐state EMT and hybrid tumors are needed for the establishment of a comprehensive profile of cancer metastasis.