AUTHOR=Guo Kaibo , Feng Yuqian , Zheng Xueer , Sun Leitao , Wasan Harpreet S. , Ruan Shanming , Shen Minhe 

TITLE=Resveratrol and Its Analogs: Potent Agents to Reverse Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Tumors

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2021.644134

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2021.644134

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=<p>Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a complicated program through which polarized epithelial cells acquire motile mesothelial traits, is regulated by tumor microenvironment. EMT is involved in tumor progression, invasion and metastasis <italic>via</italic> reconstructing the cytoskeleton and degrading the tumor basement membrane. Accumulating evidence shows that resveratrol, as a non-flavonoid polyphenol, can reverse EMT and inhibit invasion and migration of human tumors <italic>via</italic> diverse mechanisms and signaling pathways. In the present review, we will summarize the detailed mechanisms and pathways by which resveratrol and its analogs (e.g. Triacetyl resveratrol, 3,5,4’-Trimethoxystilbene) might regulate the EMT process in cancer cells to better understand their potential as novel anti-tumor agents. Resveratrol can also reverse chemoresistance <italic>via</italic> EMT inhibition and improvement of the antiproliferative effects of conventional treatments. Therefore, resveratrol and its analogs have the potential to become novel adjunctive agents to inhibit cancer metastasis, which might be partly related to their blocking of the EMT process.</p>