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Updated: Jun 23, 2025
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A Two-Step Strategy that Combines Epigenetic Modification and Biomechanical Cues to Generate Mammalian Pluripotent Cells
Published on: August 29, 2020
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Regulating epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity from 3D genome organization.
Qing You Pang1, Yi-Chia Chiu2, Ruby Yun-Ju Huang3,4,5
1Neuro-Oncology Research Laboratory, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore, 308433, Singapore.
Communications Biology
|June 20, 2024
Summary
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) involves reversible changes in cell structure and gene expression. This review explores how 3D genome organization and chromatin accessibility regulate EMT, crucial for development and cancer.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Epigenetics
- Genomics
Background:
- Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a biological process where epithelial cells gain mesenchymal characteristics.
- EMT is crucial for embryonic development and is implicated in carcinoma progression.
- The reversible nature of EMT suggests complex regulatory mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current knowledge on the role of chromatin organization in EMT.
- To focus on the hierarchical structures of the 3D genome during EMT.
- To highlight changes in chromatin accessibility that drive EMT.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of epigenomic regulation in EMT.
- Analysis of studies on 3D genome structure and histone modifications.
- Examination of research on chromatin accessibility dynamics.
Main Results:
- EMT involves dynamic epigenomic regulation, including histone modifications.
- 3D genome structural changes are integral to the EMT process.
- Altered chromatin accessibility drives the transcriptional cascade of EMT.
Conclusions:
- Chromatin organization and 3D genome structure are key regulators of EMT.
- Understanding these epigenetic mechanisms is vital for both developmental biology and cancer research.
- Further research into chromatin accessibility in EMT can reveal therapeutic targets.
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