title: Inflammatory microenvironment contributes to epithelial-mesenchymal transition in gastric cancer.
abstract: Gastric cancer (GC) is the fifth most common malignancy in the world. The major cause of GC is chronic infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). Infection with H. pylori leads to an active inflammatory microenvironment that is maintained by immune cells such as T cells, macrophages, natural killer cells, among other cells. Immune cell dysfunction allows the initiation and accumulation of mutations in GC cells, inducing aberrant proliferation and protection from apoptosis. Meanwhile, immune cells can secrete certain signals, including cytokines, and chemokines, to alter intracellular signaling pathways in GC cells. Thus, GC cells obtain the ability to metastasize to lymph nodes by undergoing the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), whereby epithelial cells lose their epithelial attributes and acquire a mesenchymal cell phenotype. Metastasis is a leading cause of death for GC patients, and the involved mechanisms are still under investigation. In this review, we summarize the current research on how the inflammatory environment affects GC initiation and metastasis via EMT.
authors.affiliation: Hui-Ying Ma, Xin-Zhou Liu, Chun-Min Liang, Lab of Tumor Immunology, Department of Anatomy and Histology and Embryology, Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Hui-Ying
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Hui-Ying Ma, Xin-Zhou Liu, Chun-Min Liang, Lab of Tumor Immunology, Department of Anatomy and Histology and Embryology, Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Xin-Zhou
authors.initials: XZ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Hui-Ying Ma, Xin-Zhou Liu, Chun-Min Liang, Lab of Tumor Immunology, Department of Anatomy and Histology and Embryology, Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Chun-Min
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Liang
mesh_terms: D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000473:pathology*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1 / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1
keywords: Epithelial-mesenchymal transition; Gastric cancer; Immune cells; Inflammation; Microenvironment