Abstract

HINCAPIE, Victoria  and  GALLEGO-GOMEZ, Juan Carlos. Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition induced by virus. Acta biol.Colomb. [online]. 2021, vol.26, n.1, pp.105-115.  Epub Mar 18, 2021. ISSN 0120-548X.  https://doi.org/10.15446/abc.v26n1.79358.

Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) is a highly conserved dedifferentiation process in vertebrates. This process occurs in epithelial cells activating progressive loss of cell polarity, acquisition of individual motility and invasive capacity to other tissues. EMT is a normal process during development process, however, in pathological conditions is related to the induction of metastasis, which represents an alternative path to the development of early oncogenic processes. Although, EMT is mainly activated by growth factors, it can also be triggered by intracellular-pathogen-infections by activating molecular pathways that induce this process. Therefore, a bacterial or viral infection may generate predisposition to the development of tumors. Our interest is mainly focused on characterizing the host-virus relationship, and in the case of viruses, several have already been described as EMT inductors. In this review, phenomenon of cellular plasticity, detailed occurrence of the EMT, viral pathogens reported as inducers, the molecular mechanisms, and the regulatory pathways through miRNAs are described. Finally, we discuss how this host-virus relationship may explain the pathogenesis of the disease caused by Dengue virus, favoring the identification of molecular targets for therapy, a strategy known as Host-Targeting Antivirals (HTA).

Keywords : cellular plasticity; EMT; microRNAs; viral pathogenesis; virus-host relationship.

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