Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition and Tissue Healing

The review article from 2019 discussed the role of Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) in tissue repair and wound healing. EMT is a process where cells lose their epithelial characteristics and gain mesenchymal ones, a change that can be triggered by damage, hypoxia, or inflammation. This process can be complete or partial during tissue repair in various organs. EMT plays a significant role in re-epithelialization, angiogenesis, and the immunologic role of Langerhans cells during wound healing. However, sustained EMT can lead to wound scarring, fibrotic pathology in multiple organs, cataracts, and endometriosis. The study suggested that EMT could produce adult cells with stem cell characteristics, contributing to the pool of different progenitor cells to maintain organ homeostasis. Further research was needed to determine if EMT in normal tissues leads to the production of normal stem cells.