Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 10, 2025

Induction of Mesenchymal-Epithelial Transitions in Sarcoma Cells
Published on: April 7, 2017
Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Metabolic Switching in Cancer: Lessons From Somatic Cell Reprogramming
Xiaowei Lai1,2,3, Qian Li1,2,4, Fang Wu1,2,3
1CAS Key Laboratory of Regenerative Biology, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China.
Abstract:
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and its critical roles during cancer progression have long been recognized and extensively reviewed. Recent studies on the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have established the connections among EMT, energy metabolism, DNA methylation, and histone modification. Since energy metabolism, DNA methylation, and histone modification are important for cancer development and there are common characteristics between cancer cells and stem cells, it is reasonable to identify mechanisms that have been established during both reprogramming and cancer progression. In the current review, we start from a brief review on EMT and related processes during cancer progression, and then switch to the EMT during somatic cell reprogramming. We summarize the connection between EMT and metabolic switch during reprogramming, and further review the involvements of DNA methylation and cell proliferation. The connections between EMT and mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) and cellular aspects including DNA methylation, histone modification and energy metabolism may provide potential new targets for cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Related Concept Videos
Somatic to iPS Cell Reprogramming
Metastasis
Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition
The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition or EMT is a developmental process commonly observed in wound healing, embryogenesis, and cancer metastasis. EMT is induced by transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) or receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) ligands, which further...
Forced Transdifferentiation
Artificial...
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
Methods of Nuclear Reprogramming
Introduction to Nuclear Reprogramming

