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Review
. 2019 Jul 19:7:135.
doi: 10.3389/fcell.2019.00135. eCollection 2019.

Mechanochemical Signaling of the Extracellular Matrix in Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition

Lewis E Scott  1 , Seth H Weinberg  1 , Christopher A Lemmon  1
Affiliations
Review

Mechanochemical Signaling of the Extracellular Matrix in Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition

Lewis E Scott et al. Front Cell Dev Biol. .

Abstract

Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) is a critical process in embryonic development in which epithelial cells undergo a transdifferentiation into mesenchymal cells. This process is essential for tissue patterning and organization, and it has also been implicated in a wide array of pathologies. While the intracellular signaling pathways that regulate EMT are well-understood, there is increasing evidence that the mechanical properties and composition of the extracellular matrix (ECM) also play a key role in regulating EMT. In turn, EMT drives changes in the mechanics and composition of the ECM, creating a feedback loop that is tightly regulated in healthy tissues, but is often dysregulated in disease. Here we present a review that summarizes our understanding of how ECM mechanics and composition regulate EMT, and how in turn EMT alters ECM mechanics and composition.

Keywords: cellular signaling; epithelial phenotype; epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT); extracellular matrix (ECM); mechanobiology.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Tissue remodeling of the basal lamina is necessary to maintain healthy epithelium; however, mysregulation of this process drives the assembly of connective tissue, which can in turn facilitate the mesenchymal phenotype. The mesenchymal phenotype further drives tissue remodeling to continue the process in EMT.
Figure 2
Figure 2
ECM signals both maintain epithelial polarization (green arrows) and drive EMT (red arrows). The schematic indicates major ECM components that have been identified to activate or inhibit EMT.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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