Contribution of Epithelial-mesenchymal Transition to Vasculogenic Mimicry

As a new model of the microcirculation, tumor cell vasculogenic mimicry (VM) is an unfavorable prognostic factor for tumor patients. Recent studies have showed that epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays an important role in VM formation. In this review, we present evidences for the participation of nuclear factors which regulate EMT, stem cell characteristics of EMT cells and microenvironment changes induced by EMT in VM. In addition, the relationship among VM, EMT, CSCs and microenvironment is also discussed briefl y. With the signifi cant part that EMT plays in the formation of VM, a further development of drug for anti-VM formation and a deep-going study of the molecular mechanism of EMT are expected to lay a solid theoretical foundation for the strategies that treatment of tumor distance metastasis by targeting EMT for inhibiting VM formation.