EMT在癌症转移中的作用:内环境依赖的调控过程

The role of epithelial-mesenchymal transition in cancer metastasis:a context-dependent regulation process

上皮-间质转化(epithelial-mesenchymal transition,EMT)发生在胚胎发生和肿瘤进展过程中,是一个动态的、受到高度调控的过程。EMT和其反过程间质-上皮转化(mesenchymal-epithelial transition,MET)不仅参与了机体的正常发育过程,在肿瘤的侵袭和转移等方面也起着重要的作用。越来越多的证据表明,在不同的肿瘤类型或同一肿瘤的不同发展阶段中,EMT发生的驱动因素不同,导致它在肿瘤转移中的作用也不尽相同,即呈现出内环境依赖特性。另外,部分EMT是EMT在肿瘤中的一种常见的表现形式,可以赋予细胞更高的可塑性,从而获得更强的侵袭能力。本综述将总结EMT在肿瘤细胞中的生物学特性以及多层级的调节机制,对不同的癌症内环境条件下,EMT与癌症转移的关系以及EMT作为潜在治疗靶点的临床意义进行探讨。

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT),which occurs during embryogenesis and tumor development,is a dynamic and highly regulated process.EMT and mesenchymal-epithelial transition(MET)not only participate in the normal development process,but also play a critical role in tumor invasion and metastasis.Emerging evidences showed that EMT could be driven by different cancer-related factors,which lead to diverse effects of EMT on cancer metastasis,thereby exhibiting context-dependent characteristics in different tumor types or different stages during cancer progression.In addition,partial EMT is a common manifestation of EMT in tumors,which can endow tumor cells with higher plasticity and stronger invasive ability.In this review,we will summarize the biological characteristics of EMT in cancer metastasis,also discuss the multi-level regulatory mechanisms of EMT.Especially,in different cancer context,the association of EMT with cancer metastasis and the clinical implications of EMT as a potential therapeutic target will be also discussed.