Koopmans Tim, Rinkevich Yuval
Comprehensive Pneumology Center, Institute of Lung Biology and Disease, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, 81377, Germany.
Commun Biol. 2018 Oct 16;1:170. doi: 10.1038/s42003-018-0180-x. eCollection 2018.
The internal organs embedded in the cavities are lined by an epithelial monolayer termed the mesothelium. The mesothelium is increasingly implicated in driving various internal organ pathologies, as many of the normal embryonic developmental pathways acting in mesothelial cells, such as those regulating epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, also drive disease progression in adult life. Here, we summarize observations from different animal models and organ systems that collectively point toward a central role of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in driving tissue fibrosis, acute scarring, and cancer metastasis. Thus, drugs targeting pathways of mesothelium's transition may have broad therapeutic benefits in patients suffering from these diseases.
位于体腔内的内脏器官由一层称为间皮的上皮细胞单层所覆盖。间皮越来越多地被认为与多种内脏器官疾病的发生有关，因为许多在间皮细胞中起作用的正常胚胎发育途径，如那些调节上皮-间充质转化的途径，在成年期也会推动疾病进展。在此，我们总结了来自不同动物模型和器官系统的观察结果，这些结果共同表明上皮-间充质转化在驱动组织纤维化、急性瘢痕形成和癌症转移中起核心作用。因此，针对间皮转化途径的药物可能对患有这些疾病的患者具有广泛的治疗益处。
