OVOL proteins (OVOL1 and OVOL2), vertebrate homologs of Drosophila OVO, are critical regulators of epithelial lineage determination and differentiation during embryonic development in tissues such as kidney, skin, mammary epithelia, and testis. OVOL can inhibit epithelial-mesenchymal transition and/or can promote mesenchymal-epithelial transition. Moreover, they can regulate the stemness of cancer cells, thus playing an important role during cancer cell metastasis. Due to their central role in differentiation and maintenance of epithelial lineage, OVOL overexpression has been shown to be capable of reprogramming fibroblasts to epithelial cells. Here, we review the roles of OVOL-mediated epithelial differentiation across multiple contexts, including embryonic development, cancer progression, and cellular reprogramming.

中文翻译：

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OVOL1/2：发育、疾病和重编程中上皮分化的驱动因素

OVOL 蛋白（OVOL1 和 OVOL2）是果蝇 OVO 的脊椎动物同源物，是胚胎发育过程中如肾脏、皮肤、乳腺上皮和睾丸等组织中上皮谱系确定和分化的关键调节因子。OVOL可以抑制上皮-间质转化和/或可以促进间质-上皮转化。此外，它们还可以调节癌细胞的干性，从而在癌细胞转移过程中发挥重要作用。由于它们在上皮谱系分化和维持中的核心作用，OVOL 过表达已被证明能够将成纤维细胞重编程为上皮细胞。在这里，我们回顾了 OVOL 介导的上皮分化在多种情况下的作用，包括胚胎发育、癌症进展和细胞重编程。