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Molecular signaling of the epithelial to mesenchymal transition in generating and maintaining cancer stem cells

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Abstract

The epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a highly conserved cellular program that allows polarized, well-differentiated epithelial cells to convert to unpolarized, motile mesenchymal cells. EMT is critical for appropriate embryogenesis and plays a crucial role in tumorigenesis and cancer progression. Recent studies revealed that there is a direct link between the EMT program and the gain of epithelial stem cell properties. EMT is sufficient to induce a population with stem cell characteristics from well-differentiated epithelial cells and cancer cells. In this review, we briefly introduce the biology of EMT inducers and transcription factors in tumorigenesis and then focus on the role of these key players of the EMT in generating and maintaining cancer stem cells.

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Acknowledgments

We apologize to those authors whose work was not cited due to the limited space. We would like to thank Shideng Bao (Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic) and reviewers for critical comments. This work was supported by grants from the National Nature Science Foundation of China (nos. 30570935, 30871242), the Science Planning Program of Fujian Province (2009J1010), a Berkeley Scholar Fellowship to G.O., and the National Basic Research Program of China (no. 2010CB732402) to C.J.Y. and G.O.

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  1. Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Cell Biology and Tumor Cell Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China

    Gaoliang Ouyang, Zhe Wang, Xiaoguang Fang & Jia Liu

  2. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China

    Chaoyong James Yang

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  1. Gaoliang Ouyang
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Correspondence to Gaoliang Ouyang.

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Ouyang, G., Wang, Z., Fang, X. et al. Molecular signaling of the epithelial to mesenchymal transition in generating and maintaining cancer stem cells. Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 67, 2605–2618 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-010-0338-2

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