肿瘤细胞在由多种细胞类型组成的肿瘤微环境中进化。其中，内皮细胞（EC）是肿瘤血管生成的主角，这是肿瘤进展和转移的推动力。越来越多的证据表明，EC也通过一种称为内皮间充质转化（EndoMT）的过程调整其表型以分化成间充质细胞，从而促进了肿瘤进展和转移。EC的这种可塑性是通过各种细胞因子介导的，包括转化生长因子-β（TGF-β），并根据细胞环境调节其他刺激。最近的证据显示EndoMT在肿瘤进展的各个步骤中都起着作用，包括肿瘤血管生成、癌细胞内外移、癌相关成纤维细胞形成和癌症治疗抗性。在本综述中，我们总结了关于EndoMT的当前更新，突出了EndoMT在肿瘤进展和转移中的作用，并强调将EndoMT作为潜在治疗策略的目标。版权所有©2023 Elsevier Ltd. 发布。

Tumor cells evolve in tumor microenvironment composed of multiple cell types. Among these, endothelial cells (ECs) are the major players in tumor angiogenesis, which is a driver of tumor progression and metastasis. Increasing evidence suggests that ECs also contribute to tumor progression and metastasis as they modify their phenotypes to differentiate into mesenchymal cells through a process known as endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT). This plasticity of ECs is mediated by various cytokines, including transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), and modulated by other stimuli depending on the cellular contexts. Recent lines of evidence have shown that EndoMT is involved in various steps of tumor progression, including tumor angiogenesis, intravasation and extravasation of cancer cells, formation of cancer-associated fibroblasts, and cancer therapy resistance. In this review, we summarize current updates on EndoMT, highlight the roles of EndoMT in tumor progression and metastasis, and underline targeting EndoMT as a potential therapeutic strategy.Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Ltd.