Figure 1: Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of renal tubular cells. Epithelial cells that interacts with basement membrane with its basal surface undergoes transition to a mesenchymal cell phenotype. This transition is characterized by loss of epithelial cell marker proteins and acquisition of mesenchymal cell marker proteins. ZO-1: zonula occludens-1, α-SMA: α-smooth muscle actin, FSP1: fibroblast-specific protein 1.