Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) occurs during embryogenesis and tumor progression. EMT is a dynamic and highly regulated process, which is involved in the development of the body and plays an important role in tumor invasion and metastasis. It endows tumor cells with higher plasticity, thus gaining a stronger ability to invade. There is increasing evidence that EMT is driven by different factors in different tumor types or in different stages of development of the same tumor. EMT in tumor cells can enhance their invasiveness, anti-apoptotic ability, and drug resistance. Furthermore, it is conducive to local infiltration and distal metastasis of tumor cells and accelerates the progress of tumor development. Therefore, inhibition of EMT can be an important direction of anti-tumor therapy.
The EMT process is regulated by tumor cell microenvironmental stimuli, extracellular mediators and their receptors, signaling pathway responses, transcription factors, and ncRNA. EMT is an important cancer cell phenotype leading to tumor metastasis and drug resistance. Inhibitors of this cellular process may provide clinical strategies for improving the outcome of cancer treatment as chemotherapy or targeted therapy agents. Although many preclinical studies suggest that EMT is involved in tumor metastasis, it is still difficult to translate it into clinical application. The causal relationship between EMT and tumor metastasis is still controversial, but the role of EMT in tumor drug resistance has been increasingly recognized. Therefore, targeting EMT is considered as a new therapeutic direction to overcome cancer drug resistance.
This Research Topic will focus on the biological characteristics and multilevel regulatory mechanisms of EMT in tumor cells. Studies on the relationship between EMT and cancer metastasis and the clinical significance of EMT as a potential therapeutic target were welcome. Specific topics of interest include the following:
• Discovery of EMT-related genes and/or proteins and/or Non-coding RNAs that play key roles in tumor development
• The cross-talk of EMT signaling pathways in cancer
• Potential novel cancer therapeutic targets in EMT
• Mechanisms of EMT-related drug resistance in malignant tumors
• Molecular targeted therapy in EMT
• Novel drugs and/or biomolecules and/or nanomedicine targeting EMT
Please note: manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by validation (independent cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) are out of scope for this section and will not be accepted as part of this Research Topic.
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) occurs during embryogenesis and tumor progression. EMT is a dynamic and highly regulated process, which is involved in the development of the body and plays an important role in tumor invasion and metastasis. It endows tumor cells with higher plasticity, thus gaining a stronger ability to invade. There is increasing evidence that EMT is driven by different factors in different tumor types or in different stages of development of the same tumor. EMT in tumor cells can enhance their invasiveness, anti-apoptotic ability, and drug resistance. Furthermore, it is conducive to local infiltration and distal metastasis of tumor cells and accelerates the progress of tumor development. Therefore, inhibition of EMT can be an important direction of anti-tumor therapy.
The EMT process is regulated by tumor cell microenvironmental stimuli, extracellular mediators and their receptors, signaling pathway responses, transcription factors, and ncRNA. EMT is an important cancer cell phenotype leading to tumor metastasis and drug resistance. Inhibitors of this cellular process may provide clinical strategies for improving the outcome of cancer treatment as chemotherapy or targeted therapy agents. Although many preclinical studies suggest that EMT is involved in tumor metastasis, it is still difficult to translate it into clinical application. The causal relationship between EMT and tumor metastasis is still controversial, but the role of EMT in tumor drug resistance has been increasingly recognized. Therefore, targeting EMT is considered as a new therapeutic direction to overcome cancer drug resistance.
This Research Topic will focus on the biological characteristics and multilevel regulatory mechanisms of EMT in tumor cells. Studies on the relationship between EMT and cancer metastasis and the clinical significance of EMT as a potential therapeutic target were welcome. Specific topics of interest include the following:
• Discovery of EMT-related genes and/or proteins and/or Non-coding RNAs that play key roles in tumor development
• The cross-talk of EMT signaling pathways in cancer
• Potential novel cancer therapeutic targets in EMT
• Mechanisms of EMT-related drug resistance in malignant tumors
• Molecular targeted therapy in EMT
• Novel drugs and/or biomolecules and/or nanomedicine targeting EMT
Please note: manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by validation (independent cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) are out of scope for this section and will not be accepted as part of this Research Topic.