Guidelines and definitions for research on epithelial–mesenchymal transition

Yang J, Antin P, Berx G, Blanpain C, Brabletz T, Bronner M, Campbell K, Cano A, Casanova J, Christofori G, Dedhar S, Derynck R, Ford HL, Fuxe J, García de Herreros A, Goodall GJ, Hadjantonakis AK, Huang RJ, Kalcheim C, Kalluri R, Kang Y, Khew-Goodall Y, Levine H, Liu J, Longmore GD, Mani SA, Massagué J, Mayor R, McClay D, Mostov KE, Newgreen DF, Nieto MA, Puisieux A, Runyan R, Savagner P, Stanger B, Stemmler M, Takahashi Y, Takeichi M, Theveneau E, Thiery JP, Thompson EW, Weinberg RA, Williams ED, Xing J, Zhou BP, Sheng G (2020)

Publication Type: Journal article, Review article

Publication year: 2020

Journal

DOI: 10.1038/s41580-020-0237-9

Abstract

Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) encompasses dynamic changes in cellular organization from epithelial to mesenchymal phenotypes, which leads to functional changes in cell migration and invasion. EMT occurs in a diverse range of physiological and pathological conditions and is driven by a conserved set of inducing signals, transcriptional regulators and downstream effectors. With over 5,700 publications indexed by Web of Science in 2019 alone, research on EMT is expanding rapidly. This growing interest warrants the need for a consensus among researchers when referring to and undertaking research on EMT. This Consensus Statement, mediated by ‘the EMT International Association’ (TEMTIA), is the outcome of a 2-year-long discussion among EMT researchers and aims to both clarify the nomenclature and provide definitions and guidelines for EMT research in future publications. We trust that these guidelines will help to reduce misunderstanding and misinterpretation of research data generated in various experimental models and to promote cross-disciplinary collaboration to identify and address key open questions in this research field. While recognizing the importance of maintaining diversity in experimental approaches and conceptual frameworks, we emphasize that lasting contributions of EMT research to increasing our understanding of developmental processes and combatting cancer and other diseases depend on the adoption of a unified terminology to describe EMT.

Authors with CRIS profile

Involved external institutions

California Institute of Technology (Caltech) United States (USA) (US) University of Sheffield United Kingdom (GB) Hospital Universitario La Paz Spain (ES) Institute for Research in Biomedicine / IRB Barcelona Spain (ES) University of Arizona United States (USA) (US) Universiteit Gent (UGent) / Ghent University Belgium (BE) Moores Cancer Center United States (USA) (US) Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) / Free University of Brussels Belgium (BE) Universität Basel Switzerland (CH) BC Cancer Research Centre Canada (CA) University of California San Francisco (UCSF) United States (USA) (US) University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus United States (USA) (US) Karolinska University Hospital / Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset Sweden (SE) Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) Spain (ES) University of South Australia Australia (AU) Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center United States (USA) (US) National Taiwan University (NTU) Taiwan (TW) Hebrew University of Jerusalem Israel (IL) University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center United States (USA) (US) Princeton University United States (USA) (US) Northeastern University United States (USA) (US) Washington University in St. Louis United States (USA) (US) University College London (UCL) United Kingdom (GB) Duke University United States (USA) (US) The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne Australia (AU) Instituto de Neurociencias (IN) Spain (ES) Centre de recherche en cancérologie France (FR) École Polytechnique - Université Paris-Saclay France (FR) University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) United States (USA) (US) Kyoto University / 京都大学 Kyōto daigaku Japan (JP) Riken Institute of Physical and Chemical Research / 理化学研究所 Japan (JP) Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier France (FR) Guangzhou Regenerative Medicine and Health Guangdong Laboratory (Bioisland Laboratory) China (CN) Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Australia (AU) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) United States (USA) (US) University of Kentucky HealthCare United States (USA) (US) Kumamoto University / 熊本大学 Japan (JP) UPMC Hillman Cancer Center United States (USA) (US)

How to cite

APA:

Yang, J., Antin, P., Berx, G., Blanpain, C., Brabletz, T., Bronner, M.,... Sheng, G. (2020). Guidelines and definitions for research on epithelial–mesenchymal transition. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41580-020-0237-9

MLA:

Yang, Jing, et al. "Guidelines and definitions for research on epithelial–mesenchymal transition." Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology (2020).

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