https://kpf.realfiedbook.com/?book=3805582528
The concept of epithelial-mesenchymal transitions (EMT) has brought valuable insights to the study of complex processes involved in early embryo development, wound healing, carcinoma progression or kidney fibrosis. Major advances are reported in identifying new model systems, transcriptional regulators (including chromatin structure and microRNA), specific signaling pathways, and effector molecules. In this special issue, recent developments in the EMT field are reviewed, including the first localizations of Snail proteins in human cancers. Snail signaling and targets are carefully explored in several systems. Another emerging signaling pathway discussed involves TGF-beta. Several new concepts are consolidated including partial EMT, resulting in a metastable phenotype in cancer systems, and reversed EMT, described during bladder cancer progression as a mesenchymal-epithelial transition. Some of the papers focus on the first therapeutic approaches and different microarray analysis approaches specifically targeting the EMT process. Basic and clinical reseachers, clinicians as well as graduate and PhD students in the fields of cell and developmental biology, oncology and nephrology will appreciate this multidisciplinary and up-to-date overview of the EMT process.
