Bannerman Dawn, Pascual-Gil Simon, Floryan Marie, Radisic Milica
APL Bioeng. 2021 Apr 23;5(2):021504. doi: 10.1063/5.0033710. eCollection 2021 Jun.
Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process that occurs in a wide range of tissues and environments, in response to numerous factors and conditions, and plays a critical role in development, disease, and regeneration. The process involves epithelia transitioning into a mobile state and becoming mesenchymal cells. The investigation of EMT processes has been important for understanding developmental biology and disease progression, enabling the advancement of treatment approaches for a variety of disorders such as cancer and myocardial infarction. More recently, tissue engineering efforts have also recognized the importance of controlling the EMT process. In this review, we provide an overview of the EMT process and the signaling pathways and factors that control it, followed by a discussion of bioengineering strategies to control EMT. Important biological, biomaterial, biochemical, and physical factors and properties that have been utilized to control EMT are described, as well as the studies that have investigated the modulation of EMT in tissue engineering and regenerative approaches , with a specific focus on the heart. Novel tools that can be used to characterize and assess EMT are discussed and finally, we close with a perspective on new bioengineering methods that have the potential to transform our ability to control EMT, ultimately leading to new therapies.
上皮-间质转化（EMT）是一个在多种组织和环境中发生的过程，它对众多因素和条件做出反应，在发育、疾病和再生中起着关键作用。该过程涉及上皮细胞转变为可移动状态并成为间充质细胞。EMT过程的研究对于理解发育生物学和疾病进展至关重要，有助于推进针对多种疾病（如癌症和心肌梗死）的治疗方法。最近，组织工程研究也认识到控制EMT过程的重要性。在本综述中，我们概述了EMT过程以及控制它的信号通路和因素，随后讨论了控制EMT的生物工程策略。描述了已用于控制EMT的重要生物学、生物材料、生化和物理因素及特性，以及在组织工程和再生方法中研究EMT调节的相关研究，特别关注心脏。讨论了可用于表征和评估EMT的新型工具，最后，我们展望了有可能改变我们控制EMT能力的新生物工程方法，最终带来新的治疗方法。
