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Abstract
Metastatic cancer cells are lethal. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that bolster the conversion from benign to malignant progression is key for treating these heterogeneous and resistant neoplasms. The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a conserved cellular program that alters cell shape, adhesion and movement. The shift to a more mesenchymal-like phenotype can promote tumor cell intravasation of surrounding blood vessels and emigration to a new organ, yet may not be necessary for extravasation or colonization into that environment. Lymphatic dissemination, on the other hand, may not require EMT. This review presents emerging data on the modes by which tumor cells promote EMT/MET via microRNA and prepare the pre-metastatic niche via exosomes.
Acknowledgments
We acknowledge the contribution of Matthew Migliozzi for histological staining. We thank Melissa Anderson for editing and administrative assistance and Ricardo Sanchez (Ricasan Rowley Histology Consulting, LLC) for tissue sections.
Declaration of interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
This publication was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under award numbers P50CA09381, R21CA155728 and K01CA118732 and The Vascular Biology Program at Boston Children’s Hospital. The content of this article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.