TGFB1 and cancer: Several zinc-finger transcriptional factors, such as Snail (17, 18), Slug (19), or Twist (20), serve as downstream effectors of the TGFβ pathway and have been shown to induce the EMT through direct or indirect suppression of E-cadherin and up-regulation of vimentin transcription in cancer and thus contribute to tumor cell growth, migration, and invasion (8, 21).