AUTHOR=Scott Lewis E. , Weinberg Seth H. , Lemmon Christopher A. 

TITLE=Mechanochemical Signaling of the Extracellular Matrix in Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology

VOLUME=Volume 7 - 2019

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cell-and-developmental-biology/articles/10.3389/fcell.2019.00135

DOI=10.3389/fcell.2019.00135

ISSN=2296-634X

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.