Transitions between epithelial and mesenchymal cell phenotypes occur as part of normal organ development and wound healing, and are also observed in cancer, fibrosis and other diseases. Although the latter processes involve dysregulated interconversion of epithelial and mesenchymal cell...

The transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta) is involved in a whole range of bio logical functions, from cell growth to cell differentiation and apoptosis. The role of TGFbeta in epithelial-mesenchymal-transitions (EMTs) has been shown for both embryonic development and tumorigenesis. All...

As a member of the Phylum, Cnidaria, hydra is organized a simple gastric tube with a head and foot pole. The entire body wall of hydra is organized as a epithelial bilayer with an intervening extracellular matrix (ECM). The major components of hydra ECM are highly conserved and reflect those...

This contribution is to discuss key elements of the intracellular signaling cascades that bring about the cellular transformation referred to as epithelium-to-mesenchyme transition (EMT). EMT can be defined as the events that allows epithelial cells to dissociate from the tissue from which...

The progenitors of the mitral and tricuspid valves and the membranous interventricular septum in the heart arise by an epithelial-mesenchymal cell transformation (EMT) from embryonic endothelial cells. Experiments using collagen gel cultures to mimic the three dimensional environment in the...

Change of epithelial cell fate occurs in developmental, physiological, and pathological processes. While the initiation and outcome of the various processes may differ, many of the cellular and molecular controls are common. Using Drosophila gastrulation as a model, we describe in this chapter...

The cadherin-catenin system of cell-cell adhesion molecules plays a key role in determining cellular and tissue morphogenesis. The normal function of this molecular complex is indispensable during various stages throughout development, not only for determining the proper adhesive interactions...

IGFs (Insulin-like Growth Factors) are peptides known to stimulate a wide range of actions on different tissues. Indeed, IGFs can stimulate anabolism, acute metabolic effects as well as enhancing more chronic effects such as cell proliferation and differentiation together with protecting cells...

Classical cadherin adhesion molecules are not only essential for the formation of cell-cell junctions but also act as adhesion-activated signaling receptors involved in a diverse range of physiological processes. Cadherins through their association with catenin proteins interact with the actin...

Cell-cell adhesions are rearranged dynamically during tissue development and tumor metastasis. Recently, Rho-family GTPases, including RhoA, Rac1, and Cdc42, have emerged as key regulators of cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion. Following the identification and characterization of regulators...

Epithelial cell plasticity is associated with coordinated changes in cell adhesion and migratory behavior. The cell-cell adhesion protein E-cadherin regulates the functional integrity of epithelia by mediating specific intercellular adhesion. E-cadherin is a well-established invasion/tumor...

The sea urchin has been an instructive animal for studies of gene regulation in develop ment, morphogenesis, and cell migration. This is in part due to their convenient exter nal development, their ease in culturing, and their marvelous transparency that makes them optically accessible for...

Intercellular adhesion and communication in mammalian epithelial cells occurs via specialized junctional complexes, which include tight junctions, adherens junctions, desmosomes, and gap junctions (Fig. 1).1 Desmosomes are unique among these junctions, as they are coupled to the intermediate...

Epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) creates a family of invasive cell types from the relatively sedentary epithelial cells that line the surfaces of the body. The mesenchy mal cell’s primary trait is that, unlike the epithelium of origin, it can invade extracellular matrix and...

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a type of epithelial plasticity that is characterized by long-lasting morphological and molecular changes in epithelial cells as a result of transdifferentiation towards a mesenchymal cell type. To detect possible phenotypic transitions in human...

The epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is characterized by the loss of epithelial characteristics and the gain of mesenchymal attributes in epithelial cells. It has been associated with physiological and pathological processes requiring epithelial cell migration and invasion....

The concept of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) arose from developmental biology, (see ref. 1) where EMT occurs in many situations, each being predictable, stereotyped and with the outcomes often dramatic. The EMT of the neural crest (NC) is an example of this event in development....

Developmental biology constitutes a unique field to study cell dynamics within an or ganism. Transitions from epithelial to mesenchymal architectures represent major mor phogenetic events during development. In this chapter, trophectoderm and mesoderm formation in the mouse is analyzed in...

Successful cutaneous wound repair occurs in a series of tightly coordinated and overlapping steps: (1) inflammation and clot formation, (2) keratinocyte activation and migration, (3) remodeling of the basement membrane and extracellular matrix, and (4) dermal and epidermal maturation. During...