细胞已经进化出为了实现多种生物学功能而迁移的机制。后生动物细胞迁移过程中经常发生的一个过程是上皮间质转化（EMT）。在 EMT 过程中，贴壁上皮细胞经历协调的细胞转变，间充质化并减少其细胞间附着。这是通过严格调节基因表达的变化来实现的，基因表达调节细胞与细胞和细胞与基质的粘附以允许运动。 EMT后运动性和侵袭性的获得使得一些间充质细胞能够在复杂的环境中迁移，在胚胎发生过程中形成组织；然而，这些过程也可能被癌细胞利用，癌细胞通常会利用这些内源性程序进行转移。转录后调控现已成为细胞调节 EMT 和迁移的主要保守机制，我们在脊椎动物发育和癌症的背景下对此进行讨论。版权所有 © 2024 作者。由爱思唯尔有限公司出版。保留所有权利。

Cells have evolved mechanisms to migrate for diverse biological functions. A process frequently deployed during metazoan cell migration is the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). During EMT, adherent epithelial cells undergo coordinated cellular transitions to mesenchymalize and reduce their intercellular attachments. This is achieved via tightly regulated changes in gene expression, which modulates cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion to allow movement. The acquisition of motility and invasive properties following EMT allows some mesenchymal cells to migrate through complex environments to form tissues during embryogenesis; however, these processes may also be leveraged by cancer cells, which often co-opt these endogenous programs to metastasize. Post-transcriptional regulation is now emerging as a major conserved mechanism by which cells modulate EMT and migration, which we discuss here in the context of vertebrate development and cancer.Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.