The Role of Notch Signaling Pathway in Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) During Development and Tumor Aggressiveness

The Notch signaling pathway maintains a balance between cell proliferation and apoptosis, and thus it is believed that Notch signaling pathway may play an important role in the development and progression of several malignancies. However, the functions of Notch signaling in EMT are largely unknown. This mini review describes the role of Notch signaling pathway in EMT, and cataloging how its deregulation is involved in EMT and tumor aggressiveness. Further attempts have been made to summarize the role of several chemopreventive agents that could be useful for targeted inactivation of Notch signaling, and thus it may cause reversal of EMT, which could become a novel approach for cancer prevention and treatment.