title: On the role of mechanics in driving mesenchymal-to-epithelial transitions.
abstract: The mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET) is an intrinsically mechanical process describing a multi-step progression where autonomous mesenchymal cells gradually become tightly linked, polarized epithelial cells. METs are fundamental to a wide range of biological processes, including the evolution of multicellular organisms, generation of primary and secondary epithelia during development and organogenesis, and the progression of diseases including cancer. In these cases, there is an interplay between the establishment of cell polarity and the mechanics of neighboring cells and microenvironment. In this review, we highlight a spectrum of METs found in normal development as well as in pathological lesions, and provide insight into the critical role mechanics play at each step. We define MET as an independent process, distinct from a reverse-EMT, and propose questions to further explore the cellular and physical mechanisms of MET.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Hye Young
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA; Department of Developmental Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA; Department of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. Electronic address: lad43@pitt.edu.
authors.forename: Lance A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Davidson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D015820:Cadherins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002455:Cell Division; D016764:Cell Polarity; D065150:Cellular Reprogramming / Q000235:genetics; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition / Q000235:genetics*; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D014746:Vimentin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015820:Cadherins; D014746:Vimentin
keywords: Cell and tissue polarity; Cell mechanics; EMT; Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition; Epithelialization; MET; Phenotypic plasticity; Polarization; Re-epithelialization; Reverse-EMT