What is the epithelial mesenchymal transition?
The epithelial mesenchymal transition, or EMT, is an important, though not fully understood process in embryonic development and in cancer biology. In the epithelial mesenchymal transition, epithelial cells that tend to be firmly charged cells with limited mobility that line body cavities resemble mesenchymal cells by becoming mobile and leaving the epithelium. Mezenchymal cells are stem cells that may differentiate to different types of cells; This may be beneficial during embryonic development or harmful in cancer organisms. The opposite of EMT is the mesenchymal-epithelial transition or has met.
There are three main features that characterize the epithelial meantymal transition: cell adhesion decreases, causing epithelial cells to separate from epithelium or tissue composed of epithelial cells; Expression of e-cadherin, a gene that suppresses cancer is significantly reduced; and cells previously tied to epithelium become much more More mobile and can move afterthe whole organism. Examination of cells before and after epithelial mesenchymal transition reveals a change from structured, ordered and carefully packed cells to unstructured cells spread without a specific organization.
The epithelial mesenchymal transition is considered an important part of embryonic development. The epithelial cells in the epithelium must be separated and function as stem cells to make proper cellular growth, leading to the proper development of the body. Epithelial mesenchymal transition is often necessary for the development of different types of tissues in growing embryo.
In humans, the epithelial mesenchymal transition is remarkable for its role in cancer. This is especially true for solids cancer, such as pancreatic, colorectal and hepatocellular cancer. There are many genetic Pathways related to the regulation of cellular proliferation and growth, known to evoke EMT in some cases.If the expression of these genes is incorrectly regulated, e-cadherin, a tumor suppressor associated with EMT, can be substantially inhibited, thus promoting tumors. It has been shown that a number of other proteins such as collagen and some transcriptional factors are evoked by EMT.
Epithelial mesenchymal transition increases the ability of cancer cells to metastasize or spread throughout the body. Epithelial cells show low mobility and tend to follow the cells around them. On the other hand, cells with mesenchymal features are much more mobile and tend to observe the surrounding cells to a large extent. As such, they are able to spread blood much more easily and spread cancer to other parts of the body. EMT is therefore one of the processes, causing many forms of cancer invasive.