Question

How do cancer cells go from epithelial phenotype to mesenchymal phenotype?

Answer 1

Answer - The cancer cells shows metastasis which requires epithelial–mesenchymal transition for the invasion of cells. The EMT is a process by which epithelial cells lose cell to cell adhesion property and gain invasive properties to become mesenchymal stem cells; that can differentiate into a variety of cell types.

In cancer, cells lose cell-cell adhesion and break through the basement membrane and enter the bloodstream through intravasation. Then these cells uses mysenchymal-epithelial transition to exit the bloodstream to form micro-metastases.