Figure 2.

Schematic representation of Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) in canine MIUC. (A). Structure of normal urothelium. (B). Urothelial tumor outlined with the black dashed line. (C). EMT process in which the immotile urothelial cells upregulate mesenchymal (N-cadherin, vimentin) and downregulate epithelial (e-cadherin, cytokeratin) markers, acquire a “spindle-like” shape, become motile and infiltrate surrounding tissues and blood vessels. When they reach the metastatic site, the process is reversed (Mesenchymal-to-Epithelial Transition, MET) accompanied by the upregulation of mesenchymal and downregulation of epithelial markers. Some of the most common metastatic sites are depicted.