Jolly, Mohit KumarCelià-Terrassa, Toni2020-02-102020-02-102019Jolly MK, Celià-Terrassa A. Dynamics of phenotypic heterogeneity associated with EMT and stemness during cancer progression. J Clin Med. 2019 Sep 25;8(10):1542. DOI: 10.3390/jcm81015422077-0383http://hdl.handle.net/10230/43532Genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity contribute to the generation of diverse tumor cell populations, thus enhancing cancer aggressiveness and therapy resistance. Compared to genetic heterogeneity, a consequence of mutational events, phenotypic heterogeneity arises from dynamic, reversible cell state transitions in response to varying intracellular/extracellular signals. Such phenotypic plasticity enables rapid adaptive responses to various stressful conditions and can have a strong impact on cancer progression. Herein, we have reviewed relevant literature on mechanisms associated with dynamic phenotypic changes and cellular plasticity, such as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cancer stemness, which have been reported to facilitate cancer metastasis. We also discuss how non-cell-autonomous mechanisms such as cell-cell communication can lead to an emergent population-level response in tumors. The molecular mechanisms underlying the complexity of tumor systems are crucial for comprehending cancer progression, and may provide new avenues for designing therapeutic strategies.application/pdfengCopyright © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jcm8101542Cancer stem cellsCell plasticityCellular dynamicsEpithelial-to-mesenchymal transitionMathematical modelingPopulation homeostasisinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess