The basics of epithelial-mesenchymal transition
2009/06/01 by Raghu Kalluri, Robert A. Weinberg · 10,165 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Medicine · #Biology #Cancer #Cancer Cells and Metastasis #Cancer research #Cell biology #Epithelial–mesenchymal transition #Fibrosis #Gene #Genetics #Medicine #Mesenchymal stem cell #Mesenchymal stem cell research #Metastasis #Pathological #Pathology #Phenotype #Wnt/β-catenin signaling in development and cancer
paper · pdf · doi:10.1172/jci39104
published in Journal of Clinical Investigation 119(6), 1420-1428 (American Society for Clinical Investigation)
openalex publication_date 2009/06/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Abstract
The origins of the mesenchymal cells participating in tissue repair and pathological processes, notably tissue fibrosis, tumor invasiveness, and metastasis, are poorly understood. However, emerging evidence suggests that epithelial-mesenchymal transitions (EMTs) represent one important source of these cells. As we discuss here, processes similar to the EMTs associated with embryo implantation, embryogenesis, and organ development are appropriated and subverted by chronically inflamed tissues and neoplasias. The identification of the signaling pathways that lead to activation of EMT programs during these disease processes is providing new insights into the plasticity of cellular phenotypes and possible therapeutic interventions.
Cited by
- Jamming transitions in cancer
- Emerging Insights into Wnt/β-catenin Signaling in Head and Neck Cancer
- TGF-β/SMAD Pathway and Its Regulation in Hepatic Fibrosis
- Continuous self-repair protects vimentin intermediate filaments from fragmentation
- prominin-1 -null Xenopus laevis develop subretinal drusenoid-like deposits, cone-rod dystrophy and RPE atrophy
- Chronic cadmium exposure in vitro induces cancer cell characteristics in human lung cells
- Epithelial-Mesenchymal Interactions in Pulmonary Fibrosis
- Evolutionary fingerprints of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition
- Crosstalk between paralogs and isoforms influences p63-dependent regulatory element activity
- Sialoglycoproteins and sialyltransferases: Key regulators of blastocyst formation
- M2 macrophage-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) miR-155-5p promotes pulmonary fibrosis via epithelial-mesenchymal transition in lung epithelial cells
- Cancer-associated fibroblasts: a versatile mediator in tumor progression, metastasis, and targeted therapy
- Surgery-mediated tumor-promoting effects on the immune microenvironment
- Laminin gene LAMB4 is somatically mutated and expressionally altered in gastric and colorectal cancers
- The therapeutic potential of targeting the endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition
- Beyond apoptosis: Annexin A5 as a multifunctional regulator in the pathophysiology of diabetes and its complications
- Trophoblast invasion: Lessons from abnormally invasive placenta (placenta accreta)
- A crossroad between placental and tumor biology: What have we learnt?
- Towards decoding the coupled decision-making of metabolism and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in cancer
- Exploring cellular changes in ruptured human quadriceps tendons at single‐cell resolution
- Identification of functional biomarkers for personalized nanomedicine in advanced breast cancer in vitro models
- Glioma infiltration and extracellular matrix: key players and modulators
- ELMO2 is a therapeutic vulnerability in mesenchymal-like and drug-resistant non-small cell lung cancer
- LINC01638 promotes epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in endometriosis epithelial cells by up-regulating RHOB via HDAC1 suppression
- Phenotype switching in melanoma cells: MITF regulates the expression of CDH1 through E-boxes in an intronic region
- Circulating tumor cell isolation, culture, and downstream molecular analysis
- Targeting cancer stem cell pathways for cancer therapy
- Androgen-responsive Serum Response Factor target genes regulate prostate cancer cell migration
- Expression of PD-L1, cancer stem cell and epithelial–mesenchymal transition phenotype in non-small cell lung cancer
- Clinicopathologic and Prognostic Features of Sarcomatoid Urothelial Carcinoma
- Targeting cancer-associated fibroblasts: Challenges, opportunities and future directions
- Cancer cell states recur across tumor types and form specific interactions with the tumor microenvironment
- An immune biomarker associated with EMT serves as a predictor for prognosis and drug response in bladder cancer
- Functional analysis of cell plasticity using single-cell technologies
- Epithelial–mesenchymal transition, a spectrum of states: Role in lung development, homeostasis, and disease
- Pan‐cancer survey of epithelial–mesenchymal transition markers across the Cancer Genome Atlas
- Decoding the role of mesothelin in tumor dynamics and targeted treatment innovations
- BMSC-derived Exosomes Ameliorate Peritoneal Dialysis-associated Peritoneal Fibrosis via the Mir-27a-3p/TP53 Pathway
- Epithelial cells in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations: Targets for lung repair
- Post-warming culture and single vitrified-warmed blastocyst transfer with hyaluronic acid and prolactin: a randomized controlled trial
- Nestin/CXCL12 immunohistochemistry and RNA sequencing map the bone marrow microenvironment in aplastic anemia
- Long non-coding RNAs regulated NF-κB signaling in cancer metastasis: Micromanaging by not so small non-coding RNAs
- Dictamnine promotes apoptosis and inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition, migration, invasion and proliferation by downregulating the HIF-1α and Slug signaling pathways
- Combined pharmacological targeting of CD9+ progenitors alleviates obesity-induced adipose tissue fibrosis and metabolic impairment
- Changes in macrophage phenotype and induction of epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition genes following acute Achilles tenotomy and repair
- A human Barrett’s esophagus organoid system reveals epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity induced by acid and bile salts
- NF-κB Mediates Mesenchymal Transition, Remodeling, and Pulmonary Fibrosis in Response to Chronic Inflammation by Viral RNA Patterns
- Harnessing function of EMT in cancer drug resistance: a metastasis regulator determines chemotherapy response
- Broad antigenic coverage induced by vaccination with virus-based cDNA libraries cures established tumors
- Adenomyosis-associated infertility: an update of the immunological perspective
- ARID1A-BAF coordinates ZIC2 genomic occupancy for epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in cranial neural crest specification
- Formation of adherens junctions leads to the emergence of a tissue-level tension in epithelial monolayers
- Melatonin: A Potential Therapeutic Option for Breast Cancer
- Upregulated expression of MNX1-AS1 long noncoding RNA predicts poor prognosis in gastric cancer
- Combining Cadherin Expression with Molecular Markers Discriminates Invasiveness in Growth Hormone and Prolactin Pituitary Adenomas
- BPIFB1 (LPLUNC1) inhibits migration and invasion of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by interacting with VTN and VIM
- Cell motility in cancer invasion and metastasis: insights from simple model organisms
- Microfluidic, marker-free isolation of circulating tumor cells from blood samples
- Changes in cell shape are correlated with metastatic potential in murine and human osteosarcomas
- Long term outcomes of patients with skull-base low-grade chondrosarcoma and chordoma patients treated with pencil beam scanning proton therapy
- Mapping lung cancer epithelial-mesenchymal transition states and trajectories with single-cell resolution
- Smoking and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
- Involvement of partial EMT in cancer progression
- Biomarkers for epithelial-mesenchymal transitions. [europepmc]
- Epithelial-mesenchymal transitions: the importance of changing cell state in development and disease. [europepmc]
- Immunity, inflammation, and cancer. [europepmc]
- Matrix metalloproteinases: regulators of the tumor microenvironment. [europepmc]
- Tumors as organs: complex tissues that interface with the entire organism. [europepmc]
- Core epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition interactome gene-expression signature is associated with claudin-low and metaplastic breast cancer subtypes. [europepmc]
- The 'ins' and 'outs' of podosomes and invadopodia: characteristics, formation and function. [europepmc]
- The physics of cancer: the role of physical interactions and mechanical forces in metastasis. [europepmc]
- Cellular and molecular mechanisms of renal fibrosis. [europepmc]
- Spatiotemporal regulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition is essential for squamous cell carcinoma metastasis. [europepmc]
- Circulating breast tumor cells exhibit dynamic changes in epithelial and mesenchymal composition. [europepmc]
- Epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity in carcinoma metastasis. [europepmc]
- Molecular mechanisms of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. [europepmc]
- Depletion of carcinoma-associated fibroblasts and fibrosis induces immunosuppression and accelerates pancreas cancer with reduced survival. [europepmc]
- Mechanisms of disseminated cancer cell dormancy: an awakening field. [europepmc]
- PGC-1α mediates mitochondrial biogenesis and oxidative phosphorylation in cancer cells to promote metastasis. [europepmc]
- Signaling mechanisms of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. [europepmc]
- The cancer stem cell niche: how essential is the niche in regulating stemness of tumor cells? [europepmc]
- Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition is dispensable for metastasis but induces chemoresistance in pancreatic cancer. [europepmc]
- Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition is not required for lung metastasis but contributes to chemoresistance. [europepmc]
- The Molecular Signatures Database (MSigDB) hallmark gene set collection. [europepmc]
- Emerging Biological Principles of Metastasis. [europepmc]
- EMT, CSCs, and drug resistance: the mechanistic link and clinical implications. [europepmc]
- Targeting cancer stem cell pathways for cancer therapy. [europepmc]
- Crosstalk between cancer-associated fibroblasts and immune cells in the tumor microenvironment: new findings and future perspectives. [europepmc]
Related