Developmental Biology Program, Sloan-Kettering Institute, New York, NY, USA.
Cell Adh Migr. 2010 Jul-Sep;4(3):447-57. doi: 10.4161/cam.4.3.10771. Epub 2010 Jul 30.
Multicellular organisms arise from the generation of different cell types and the organization of cells into tissues and organs. Cells of metazoa display two main phenotypes, the ancestral epithelial state and the recent mesenchymal derivative. Epithelial cells are usually stationary and reside in two-dimensional sheets. By contrast mesenchymal cells are loosely packed and can move to new positions, thereby providing a vehicle for cell rearrangement, dispersal and novel cell-cell interactions. Transitions between epithelial and mesenchymal states drive key morphogenetic events in the early vertebrate embryo, including gastrulation, germ layer formation and somitogenesis. The cell behaviors and molecular mechanisms promoting transitions between these two states in the early mouse embryo are discussed in this review.
多细胞生物是由不同细胞类型的产生和细胞组织和器官的构成而出现的。后生动物的细胞表现出两种主要的表型，即原始的上皮状态和最近的间质衍生物。上皮细胞通常是静止的，位于二维薄片中。相比之下，间质细胞松散地堆积，可以移动到新的位置，从而为细胞重排、扩散和新的细胞-细胞相互作用提供了载体。上皮和间质状态之间的转变驱动了早期脊椎动物胚胎中的关键形态发生事件，包括原肠胚形成、胚层形成和体节形成。本文综述了促进早期小鼠胚胎中这两种状态之间转变的细胞行为和分子机制。
