The endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition process

Abstract

Endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition is a process through which certain endothelial cells lose endothelial characteristics and transform into mesenchymal cells or smooth muscle-like cells. Rapidly emerging data suggest that this process may have crucial roles during vascular development, cardiac fibrosis and intimal thickening formation observed in atherosclerosis and restenosis as well as in complex lesions associated with pulmonary hypertension, and during cancer progression. EndoMT entails growth factors and cytokines synthesis and secretion, activation of receptors, cytoskeleton reorganization, disassembly of the adherence junctions or loss of endothelial cell-cell contacts, change in cell shape and polarity, proteases secretion, extracellular matrix remodeling, cell detachment and cell migration and differentiation.Here, we briefly review EndoMT keeping in mind that several questions still remain without answer.