Epithelial cells, which cover all external and internal surfaces throughout the body, are interconnected via specialized major adhesive contacts. The dissociation of these contacts is an indispensable mechanism during morphogenesis and is also implicated in promoting carcinoma invasion and metastasis. Within this study it was shown that the dissociation of epithelial contacts activates the transcription factor Serum Response Factor (SRF) and its endogenous target genes. During this process, the small GTPase Rac, the depletion of the cellular monomeric actin pool and the SRF cofactor MAL were identified to be required and sufficient for signal transduction.
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Epithelial cells, which cover all external and internal surfaces throughout the body, are interconnected via specialized major adhesive contacts. The dissociation of these contacts is an indispensable mechanism during morphogenesis and is also implicated in promoting carcinoma invasion and metastasis. Within this study it was shown that the dissociation of epithelial contacts activates the transcription factor Serum Response Factor (SRF) and its endogenous target genes. During this process, the...
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