Intestinal stem cells and the colorectal cancer microenvironment

Figure 3 Epithelial-mesenchymal transition and mesenchymal-epithelial transition in colorectal cancer. In a primary tumor, CRC stem cells exist in a stationary phase that promotes growth. EMT transition to a migratory mesenchymal phase deactivates proliferative genes and cell adhesion molecules, generally allowing for metastatic dissemination to occur. Once at distant targets, mesenchymal cells transition back to the stationary phase via MET thereby resuming tumor expansion. EMT: Epithelial-mesenchymal transition; MET: Mesenchymal-epithelial transition; CRC: Colorectal cancer.