Differential Cooperation of MAPKs with TGF-beta signaling in Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition

肿瘤转移--肿瘤细胞从原来的生长部位扩散到身体的其他部位，是实体瘤患者生存的最大威胁。癌症进展过程中最大的损害变化是从局部生长的肿瘤转变为转移的杀手。对于研究癌症的生物学家来说，一个主要的挑战是确定非侵袭性肿瘤转变为侵袭性转移状态的分子和细胞机制。这项应用旨在确定控制这种转换的关键分子和细胞机制，最终目的是设计出抑制肿瘤转移的治疗方法。这项工作的结果将为预防和治疗肿瘤转移提供明确和特异的靶点。更重要的是，这项工作中使用的策略的成功可能会被用于肿瘤的临床治疗。

Tumor metastasis - the spread of tumor cells from the original site of growth to other sites in the body, is the biggest threat to survival for patients with solid tumors. The most damage change during cancer progression is the switch from a locally growing tumor to a metastastic killer. For biologist studying cancer, a major challenge is to identify the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the switch of non-invasive tumor to an invasive, metastatic state. This application aims to identify key molecular and cellular mechanism controlling this switch, with the ultimate aim being to devise treatments that inhibit tumor metastasis. The results from this work will provide clear and specific targets to prevent and to treat tumor metastasis. More importantly, the success of strategies used in this work can potentially be used clinically for tumor treatment.