Regulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition by tumor microenvironmental signals and its implication in cancer therapeutics
Jing Zhang, Zhimin Hu, Calista A. Horta, Jing Yang
Abstract
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been implicated in various aspects of tumor development, including tumor invasion and metastasis, cancer stemness, and therapy resistance. Diverse stroma cell types along with biochemical and biophysical factors in the tumor microenvironment impinge on the EMT program to impact tumor progression. Here we provide an in-depth review of various tumor microenvironmental signals that regulate EMT in cancer. We discuss the molecular mechanisms underlying the role of EMT in therapy resistance and highlight new therapeutic approaches targeting the tumor microenvironment to impact EMT and tumor progression.
Topics & Concepts
Epithelial–mesenchymal transitionTumor microenvironmentStromaMetastasisTumor progressionCancerCancer researchBiologyMesenchymal stem cellTumor cellsCancer cellTumor initiationImmunologyCell biologyImmunohistochemistryGeneticsCancer Cells and MetastasisCaveolin-1 and cellular processesWnt/β-catenin signaling in development and cancer