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Review

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 7, 131–142 (1 February 2006) | doi:10.1038/nrm1835

Complex networks orchestrate epithelial|[ndash]|mesenchymal transitions

Jean Paul Thiery & Jonathan P. Sleeman

Epithelial–mesenchymal transition is an indispensable mechanism during morphogenesis, as without mesenchymal cells, tissues and organs will never be formed. However, epithelial-cell plasticity, coupled to the transient or permanent formation of mesenchyme, goes far beyond the problem of cell-lineage segregation. Understanding how mesenchymal cells arise from an epithelial default status will also have a strong impact in unravelling the mechanisms that control fibrosis and cancer progression.