Description
The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a fundamental process in tissue remodeling during embryonic growth, it has been described also to play a major role in tumor progression, invasion and metastasis, whereas the reverse transition, mesenchymal-epithelial (MET) has been observed in the late stage metastatic colonization. The objective of this new project is the characterization of genes and proteins responsible for the phenotypic alterations (EMT and MET); and involved in epithelial-stromal cell interaction in the colon and characterization the effects induced by Wnt factors, Snail, vitamin D and TWIST1 gene in epithelial cells and (myo) fibroblasts at the genomic and proteomic level. Those genes and proteins that are validated and have greater potential interest will be analyzed in functional studies of gain and loss of function in cell cultures. Finally, we will study its expression in biopsies from patients with colonic diseases and their potential usefulness as diagnostic biomarkers and / or therapeutic targets.