question: Which proteins are related to the loss of cell-cell adhesion during EMT (epithelial-mesenchymal transition)?
answer: Transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms mediated by several inducers of EMT, in particular the ZEB and Snail factors, downregulate the expression and/or functional organization of core polarity complexes. Functional loss of the cell-cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin is an essential event for epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a process that allows cell migration during embryonic development and tumour invasion. Recently, we found that aPKC can also phosphorylate Par6 to drive EMT and increase the migratory potential of non-small cell lung cancer cells. We propose that the regulation of EMT by SIRT1 involves modulation of, and cooperation with, the EMT inducing transcription factor ZEB1. Knockdown of Numb by shRNA in MDCK cells led to a lateral to apical translocation of E-cadherin and beta-catenin, active F-actin polymerization, mis-localization of Par3 and aPKC, a decrease in cell-cell adhesion and an increase in cell migration and proliferation. Growth factors such as TGFb and EGF have also been shown to be related to EMT.