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Updated: Jul 28, 2025

Induction and Analysis of Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition
Published on: August 27, 2013
Deciphering epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in pancreatic cancer
Creighton Friend1, Parash Parajuli1, Mohammed S Razzaque2
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Massey Cancer Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States.
Abstract:
Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a complex cellular program that alters epithelial cells and induces their transformation into mesenchymal cells. While essential to normal developmental processes such as embryogenesis and wound healing, EMT has also been linked to the development and progression of various diseases, including fibrogenesis and tumorigenesis. Under homeostatic conditions, initiation of EMT is mediated by key signaling pathways and pro-EMT-transcription factors (EMT-TFs); however, in certain contexts, these pro-EMT regulators and programs also drive cell plasticity and cell stemness to promote oncogenesis as well as metastasis. In this review, we will explain how EMT and EMT-TFs mediate the initiation of pro-cancer states and how they influence late-stage progression and metastasis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the most severe form of pancreatic cancer.
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