Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Breaking down EMT

Nature Cell Biology volume 10, pages 757–759 (2008)Cite this article

Epithelial–mesenchymal transition, in which epithelial cells lose their polarity and become motile mesenchymal cells, occurs during development and marks a key step in tumour progression towards metastasis. Most studies of this process have focused on the disassembly of adherens junctions, but regulation of basement membrane breakdown by a pathway involving RhoA and microtubules may be equally important.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: EMT comprises up to five steps: 1) EMT specification.
Figure 2: BM breakdown is a key step in EMT of chick epiblast cells.

References

  1. Shook, D. & Keller, R. Mech. Dev. 120, 1351–1383 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Linker, C. et al. Development 3895–3905 (2005).

  3. Baum, B., Settleman, J. & Quinlan, M. P. Sem. Cell Dev. Biol. 19, 294–308 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Thiery, J. P. Nature Rev. Cancer 2, 442–454 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Cano, A. et al. Nature Cell Biol. 2, 76–83 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Nieto, M. A., Sargent, M. G., Wilkinson, D. G. & Cooke, J. Science 264, 835–839 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. D'Souza-Schorey, C. Trends Cell Biol. 15, 19–26 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Nakaya, Y., Sukowati, E., Wu, Y. & Sheng, G. Nature Cell Biol. 10, 765–775 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Van Aelst, L. & Symons, M. Genes Dev. 16, 1032–1054 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Simoes, S. et al. Development 133, 4257–4267 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Siegrist, S. E. & Doe, C. Q. Genes Dev. 21, 483–496 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Broussard, J. A., Webb, D. J. & Kaverina, I. Curr. Opin. Cell Biol. 20, 85–90 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Kaverina, I., Krylyshkina, O. & Small, J. V. J. Cell Biol. 146, 1033–1044 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Ezratty, E. J., Partridge, M. A. & Gundersen, G. G. Nature Cell Biol. 7, 581–590 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Palazzo, A. F., Eng, C. H., Schlaepfer, D. D., Marcantonio, E. E. & Gundersen, G. G. Science 303, 836–839 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Romain Levayer and Thomas Lecuit are at IBDML, UMR6216 CNRS-Université de la Méditerranée, Campus de Luminy, case 907. 13288 Marseille Cedex 09 France. lecuit@ibdm.univ-mrs.fr,

    Romain Levayer & Thomas Lecuit

Authors
  1. Romain Levayer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Thomas Lecuit
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Levayer, R., Lecuit, T. Breaking down EMT. Nat Cell Biol 10, 757–759 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb0708-757

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb0708-757

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing