Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a critical event in the induction of cell motility and increased survival both under physiological situations like wound healing or development, as well as in malignant cells undergoing invasion and metastasis. Vimentin is an intermediate filament protein which is characteristically upregulated in cells undergoing EMT. Recent studies support the notion that vimentin functions as a positive regulator of EMT and upregulation of vimentin appears to be a prerequisite for EMT induction (1). Vimentin has been shown to be an important regulator of cell motility. In cell culture conditions, vimentin is upregulated at the wound edge in mammary epithelial cells and breast cancer cells (2,3).
Additionally it has been shown that fibroblasts lacking vimentin migrate poorly, and display reduced mechanical stability, motility and directional migration towards different chemo-attractive stimuli (4). Furthermore, wounds in vimentin-deficient adult animals showed delayed migration of fibroblasts into the wound site and subsequently retarded contraction that correlated with a delayed appearance of myofibroblasts at the wound site (5). Vimentin has been recognized as a marker for EMT, although EMT is associated with several tumorigenic events, vimentin's role in the underlying events mediating these processes remains unknown. By virtue of its overexpression in cancer and its association with tumor growth and metastasis, vimentin serves as an attractive potential target for cancer therapy; however, more research would be crucial to evaluate its specific role in cancer (6). Novus Biologicals offers a wide range of Vimentin related products such as poly and monoclonal antibodies, recombinant proteins, ELISA kits, protein lysates and RNAi products.
Novus Biologicals offers Vimentin reagents for your research needs including:
