The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is an essential mechanism in embryonic development and tissue repair. EMT also contributes to the progression of disease, including organ fibrosis and cancer. EMT, as well as a similar transition occurring in vascular endothelial cells called endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndMT), results from the induction of transcription factors that alter gene expression to promote loss of cell-cell adhesion, leading to a shift in cytoskeletal dynamics and a change from epithelial morphology and physiology to the mesenchymal phenotype. Transcription program switching in EMT is induced by signaling pathways mediated by transforming growth factor β (TGF-b) and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP), Wnt–β-catenin, Notch, Hedgehog, and receptor tyrosine kinases. These pathways are activated by various dynamic stimuli from the local microenvironment, including growth factors and cytokines, hypoxia, and contact with the surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM). We discuss how these pathways crosstalk and respond to signals from the microenvironment to regulate the expression and function of EMT-inducing transcription factors in development, physiology, and disease. Understanding these mechanisms will enable the therapeutic control of EMT to promote tissue regeneration, treat fibrosis, and prevent cancer metastasis.

Mesenchymal stem cells can give rise to several cell types, but variations depending on isolation method and tissue source have led to controversies about their usefulness in clinical medicine. Here we show that vascular endothelial cells can transform into multipotent stem-like cells by an ALK2 receptor-dependent mechanism. In lesions from patients with Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva, a disease where heterotopic ossification occurs as a result of activating ALK2 mutations, or from a mutant ALK2 transgenic mouse model, chondrocytes and osteoblasts express endothelial markers. Tie2-Cre lineage tracing also suggests an endothelial origin of these cells. Expressing mutant ALK2 in endothelial cells, or treatment with the ALK2 ligands TGF-β2 or BMP4, causes endothelial-mesenchymal transition and acquisition of a stem cell-like phenotype. In selective media, these cells differentiate into osteoblasts, chondrocytes, or adipocytes. The process is inhibited by ALK2-specific siRNA. Conversion of endothelial cells to stem-like cells may provide a novel approach to tissue engineering.