Recent systems biology and single-cell approaches have revealed the impact of the microenvironment, lineage specification and cell identity, and the genome on epithelial–mesenchymal plasticity (EMP). In addition, cell memory (hysteresis) and cellular noise can drive stochastic transitions between cell states. The authors review these forces and the regulatory mechanisms that stabilize EMP states or facilitate epithelial–mesenchymal transitions (EMTs).
- Jef Haerinck
- Steven Goossens
- Geert Berx
