Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy.
Cells. 2020 Apr 22;9(4):1040. doi: 10.3390/cells9041040.
Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a step-wise process observed in normal and tumor cells leading to a switch from epithelial to mesenchymal phenotype. In tumors, EMT provides cancer cells with a metastatic phenotype characterized by E-cadherin down-regulation, cytoskeleton reorganization, motile and invasive potential. E-cadherin down-regulation is known as a key event during EMT. However, E-cadherin expression can be influenced by the different experimental settings and environmental stimuli so that the paradigm of EMT based on the loss of E-cadherin determining tumor cell behavior and fate often becomes an open question. In this review, we aimed at focusing on some critical points in order to improve the knowledge of the dynamic role of epithelial cells plasticity in EMT and, specifically, address the role of E-cadherin as a marker for the EMT axis.
上皮-间充质转化（EMT）是正常细胞和肿瘤细胞中观察到的一个逐步过程，导致上皮表型向间充质表型的转变。在肿瘤中，EMT 赋予癌细胞具有转移性表型的特征，其特征是 E-钙黏蛋白下调、细胞骨架重排、运动和侵袭潜能。E-钙黏蛋白下调被认为是 EMT 过程中的一个关键事件。然而，E-钙黏蛋白的表达可以受到不同的实验条件和环境刺激的影响，因此基于 E-钙黏蛋白丧失来确定肿瘤细胞行为和命运的 EMT 范式经常成为一个悬而未决的问题。在这篇综述中，我们旨在关注一些关键点，以提高对 EMT 中上皮细胞可塑性的动态作用的认识，并特别探讨 E-钙黏蛋白作为 EMT 轴的标志物的作用。
