Chapter 4
Are You Interested or Afraid of Working on EMT?
M. Angela Nieto
Abstract
When referring to the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), readers are familiar with sentences
alluding to its pivotal role both in embryonic development and in disease. Following that argument, usually
there is a point on the importance of studying the process and the impact it has on the design of therapeutic
strategies. However, it is also very common to find arguments on how the EMT is very difficult to tackle,
being a somehow obscure and complex process, where the field cannot reach universal conclusions,
particularly in pathological contexts. Even worse, it is sometimes defined as a process that cannot be
described with universal markers, making it therefore very difficult for cancer studies, where there is a
need to use optimal animal models and stratify patients for differential therapeutic strategies. In the face of
all this, the question is whether you have been frightened off working on pathological EMTs, or even if you
are not interested anymore and would prefer waiting till the field reaches a steady state of robust knowledge.
Do not be afraid and be interested now. It only involves being more plastic, like the EMT itself.
Key words Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, Morphogenesis, Cancer, Fibrosis, Stemness
When Kyra Campbell and Eric Theveneau invited me to participate
in this issue, I initially thought that I was not ready to write yet
another review on EMT. Then, after considering that I had been
working on this exciting and more than challenging process for
25 years, I thought I could write a short informal view-point,
mainly as a reflection on the ins and outs that we encounter on a
daily basis in the lab. I will refer to several points, which may help
think about the EMT in a very positive manner, while still posing
the challenges ahead. First of all, to set out the scene, refer to
excellent recent reviews on EMT [1–5].
1 The Origin of the EMT: The Importance of Evolution
One way to help clarify the importance of the EMT is acknowledging its origin and function in physiology. It is a process that
appeared and was fixed in evolution for cells that were born far from
Kyra Campbell and Eric Theveneau (eds.), The Epithelial-to Mesenchymal Transition: Methods and Protocols,
Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 2179, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0779-4_4,
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2021
19
Are You Interested or Afraid of Working on EMT?
M. Angela Nieto
Abstract
When referring to the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), readers are familiar with sentences
alluding to its pivotal role both in embryonic development and in disease. Following that argument, usually
there is a point on the importance of studying the process and the impact it has on the design of therapeutic
strategies. However, it is also very common to find arguments on how the EMT is very difficult to tackle,
being a somehow obscure and complex process, where the field cannot reach universal conclusions,
particularly in pathological contexts. Even worse, it is sometimes defined as a process that cannot be
described with universal markers, making it therefore very difficult for cancer studies, where there is a
need to use optimal animal models and stratify patients for differential therapeutic strategies. In the face of
all this, the question is whether you have been frightened off working on pathological EMTs, or even if you
are not interested anymore and would prefer waiting till the field reaches a steady state of robust knowledge.
Do not be afraid and be interested now. It only involves being more plastic, like the EMT itself.
Key words Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, Morphogenesis, Cancer, Fibrosis, Stemness
When Kyra Campbell and Eric Theveneau invited me to participate
in this issue, I initially thought that I was not ready to write yet
another review on EMT. Then, after considering that I had been
working on this exciting and more than challenging process for
25 years, I thought I could write a short informal view-point,
mainly as a reflection on the ins and outs that we encounter on a
daily basis in the lab. I will refer to several points, which may help
think about the EMT in a very positive manner, while still posing
the challenges ahead. First of all, to set out the scene, refer to
excellent recent reviews on EMT [1–5].
1 The Origin of the EMT: The Importance of Evolution
One way to help clarify the importance of the EMT is acknowledging its origin and function in physiology. It is a process that
appeared and was fixed in evolution for cells that were born far from
Kyra Campbell and Eric Theveneau (eds.), The Epithelial-to Mesenchymal Transition: Methods and Protocols,
Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 2179, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0779-4_4,
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2021
19