Given the success of
Volume I of this Research Topic, and how rapidly the subject area is evolving, we are pleased to announce the launch of Volume II: The Role of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT)-Related Non-coding RNAs in Cancer.
An epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a multistep process in which epithelial cells gain a range of mesenchymal characteristics, such as motility and invasive properties. However, the mesenchymal characteristics are reversible as cells can resume their epithelial phenotype through the reverse process named mesenchymal‐epithelial transition (MET), enabling cancer cells to be relatively static to relocate into a distant metastasis site. Multiple lines of evidence have suggested that EMT is an initiator and driver for neoplastic invasion and progression in various malignancies. So understanding the detailed regulation networks of EMT/MET is important for tumor diagnosis and therapy.
In recent years we have seen a rapid development of next-generation sequencing Some non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), such as microRNA (miRNA), long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), circular RNA (circRNA), and small nucleolar RNA (snoRNA), which were first thought to be transcriptional noise have now been reported to play important roles in many biological processes, including tumorigenesis. However, the role of EMT-related ncRNAs in cancer development is not completely clear.
With the combination of high-throughput techniques and bioinformatics, the comprehensive analysis of the relationship between EMT markers/signaling pathways and ncRNAs could be better understood in tumor patients. The goal of this Research Topic is to uncover a comprehensive summary and systematic analysis of the current understanding, and future potential, of the mechanisms and impact of EMT-related ncRNAs in tumor proliferation, migration, invasion, drug resistance, and immunoregulation. This collection focuses on the underlying crosstalk between EMT processes and ncRNAs in oncogenesis, including competing for endogenous RNA (ceRNA), genetics alteration (RNA interference, mutation), epigenetics regulation (DNA methylation, post-translational modifications of histones). We are also interested in exploring the potential for EMT-related ncRNAs to serve as molecular markers/signatures in the prediction of the tumor patient’s survival, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy response.
For this Research Topic, we are interested in Original Research, Review, Mini-Review, Opinion and Brief Research Report that focus on the following topics, but not limited to:
• Discovery of EMT-related ncRNAs in tumor development
• The cross-talk between EMT markers/signaling pathway and ncRNAs
• Elucidating mechanisms of EMT-related ncRNAs in proliferation, metastasis, immune escape or drug resistance in malignant cancers
• Multi-omics analyses of EMT-related ncRNAs
• The potential of EMT-related ncRNAs as new therapeutic targets