Tsuji Takanori, Ibaragi Soichiro, Hu Guo-fu
Department of Radiation Oncology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Cancer Res. 2009 Sep 15;69(18):7135-9. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-09-1618. Epub 2009 Sep 8.
The role of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in metastasis remains controversial. EMT has been postulated as an absolute requirement for tumor invasion and metastasis. Three different models including incomplete EMT, mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET), and collective migration have been proposed for the role of EMT in cancer invasion and metastasis. However, skepticism remains about whether EMT truly occurs during cancer progression, and if it does, whether it plays an indispensible role in metastasis. Our recent findings suggest that EMT cells are responsible for degrading the surrounding matrix to enable invasion and intravasation of both EMT and non-EMT cells. Only non-EMT cells that have entered the blood stream are able to re-establish colonies in the secondary sites. Here, we discuss an alternative model for the role of EMT in cancer metastasis in which EMT and non-EMT cells cooperate to complete the entire process of spontaneous metastasis.
上皮-间质转化(EMT)在肿瘤转移中的作用仍存在争议。EMT被假定为肿瘤侵袭和转移的绝对必要条件。针对EMT在癌症侵袭和转移中的作用,已提出了三种不同模型,包括不完全EMT、间质-上皮转化(MET)和集体迁移。然而,对于EMT在癌症进展过程中是否真的发生,以及如果发生,它在转移中是否发挥不可或缺的作用,仍存在怀疑。我们最近的研究结果表明,EMT细胞负责降解周围基质,以使EMT细胞和非EMT细胞都能侵袭和进入血管。只有进入血流的非EMT细胞能够在继发部位重新形成菌落。在此,我们讨论一种关于EMT在癌症转移中作用的替代模型,即EMT细胞和非EMT细胞协同完成自发转移的整个过程。