Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition transcription factors: New strategies for mesenchymal tissue regeneration.

Cytokine & growth factor reviews [Cytokine Growth Factor Rev] 2025 Jun; Vol. 83, pp. 99-124. Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Feb 19.

Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
The epithelial-mesenchymal transition transcription factors (EMT-TFs)-ZEB, SNAI, and TWIST families-have been extensively studied in embryonic development and tumor metastasis, providing valuable insight into their roles in cell behavior and transformation. These EMT-TFs have garnered increasing attention in the context of mesenchymal tissue regeneration, potentially contributing an approach for cell therapy. Given that dysregulated EMT-TF expression can impair cell survival and lineage differentiation, controlled regulation of their expression could offer significant advantages for tissue regeneration. However, there is a lack of comprehensive reviews to summarize the influence of the EMT-TFs on mesenchymal tissue regeneration and potential molecular mechanisms. This review explores the regulatory roles of ZEB, SNAI, and TWIST in the regeneration of bone, adipose, cartilage, muscle, and other mesenchymal tissues, with a focus on the underlying molecular signaling mechanisms. Gaining a deeper understanding of how EMT-TFs regulate cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and differentiation may offer new insights into the management of mesenchymal tissue repair and open novel avenues for enhancing tissue regeneration.
(Copyright © 2025 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

English

Publisher: Elsevier Science Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 9612306 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1879-0305 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 13596101 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Cytokine Growth Factor Rev Subsets: MEDLINE

Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition*/physiology , Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition*/genetics , Regeneration*/physiology , Transcription Factors*/metabolism , Transcription Factors*/genetics, Humans ; Animals ; Cell Differentiation ; Snail Family Transcription Factors ; Twist-Related Protein 1/metabolism ; Twist-Related Protein 1/genetics ; Signal Transduction ; Zinc Finger E-box-Binding Homeobox 1

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