Analysis of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Induced by Transforming Growth Factor β.

Analysis of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Induced by Transforming Growth Factor β. Methods Mol Biol. 2016;1344:147-81 Authors: Valcourt U, Carthy J, Okita Y, Alcaraz L, Kato M, Thuault S, Bartholin L, Moustakas A Abstract In recent years, the importance of the cell biological process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been established via an exponentially growing number of reports. EMT has been documented during embryonic development, tissue fibrosis, and cancer progression in vitro, in animal models in vivo and in human specimens. EMT relates to many molecular and cellular alterations that occur when epithelial cells undergo a switch in differentiation that generates mesenchymal-like cells with newly acquired migratory and invasive properties. In addition, EMT relates to a nuclear reprogramming similar to the one occurring in the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells. Via such a process, EMT is gradually established to promote the generation and maintenance of adult tissue stem cells which under disease states such as cancer, are known as cancer stem cells. EMT is induced by developmental growth factors, oncogenes, radiation, and hypoxia. A prominent growth factor that causes EMT is transforming growth factor β (TGF-β).A series of molecular and cellular techniques can be applied to define and characterize the state of EMT in diverse biological samples. These methods range from DNA and RNA-based techniques t...
Source: Mol Biol Cell - Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Tags: Methods Mol Biol Source Type: research