Mechanism of epithelial-mesenchymal transition / 中国药理学通报

ABSTRACT

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process by which the epithelial cells change to a mesenchymal phenotype.The highly conserved and fundamental process is integral in development, wound healing and contributes pathologically to fibrosis and cancer progression.The process can be activated by many transcription factors, growth factors or protein molecules, which involves complex molecular mechanism and signal transduction pathways.This paper reviews the development of molecular mechanisms of epithelial-mesenchymal transition and briefly summarizes the research progress of natural compounds targeting the EMT.