Quantifying the rate, degree, and heterogeneity of morphological change during an epithelial to mesenchymal transition using digital holographic cytometry
Cells in complex organisms can transition between epithelial and mesenchymal phenotypes during both normal and malignant physiological events. These two phenotypes are not binary, but rather describe a spectrum of cell states along an axis. Mammalian cells can undergo dynamic and heterogenous bidirectional interconversions along the epithelial-mesenchymal phenotypic (EMP) spectrum, and such transi