Abstract
Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is developmental process associated with cancer metastasis. Here, we found that breast carcinoma cells adopt epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in response to fractionated-radiation. Importantly, we show that Notch signaling is highly activated in fractionally-irradiated tumors as compared to non-irradiated tumors that are accompanied by an EMT. Moreover, we uncovered the mechanism of Notch-driven EMT, in which Notch enhanced EMT through IL-6/JAK/STAT3 signaling axis in mammary tumor cells. Collectively, we present converging evidence from our studies that Notch2 is a critical mediator of radiation-induced EMT and responsible for induced malignant tumor growth.