Figure 1.

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process in cells. Diagrammatic summary depicting the effects of EMT in cells. The progression of EMT shows the upregulation of mesenchymal markers such as TWIST1, SNAI1, TGF-β, aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), N-cadherin, vimentin and other cancer stem cell (CSC) markers. Profiles with increased expression of these markers have been shown to shift towards a mesenchymal phenotype depicted as irregular shaped cells with a lack of tight junctions. mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition is the reversion of this process. Cells that have shifted toward a mesenchymal state through the upregulation of these markers often acquire stem-like features and chemoresistance