Regulation of epithelial cell shape and polarity by cell-cell adhesion (Review).
Among all cell types that exhibit a polarized phenotype, epithelial cells are unique in that their polarity depends on the integration of the cell into a tissue, the epithelium. In recent years, the analysis of epithelial cell polarity in different epithelia and organisms has contributed to an understanding of the components involved and has further demonstrated that cell polarity and cell adhesion are intimately related to each other. Therefore, processes that mediate and modulate cell adhesion and coordinate adhesion and cell shape are fundamental for the function of epithelia. Recent results obtained in Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans have provided further insight into the complex circuits regulating these processes, and have laid the direction for future analysis.
Institut für Genetik, Heinrich-Heine Universität Düsseldorf, Germany. knust@uni-duesseldorf.de
Elisabeth
E
Knust
D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000502:physiology; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology; D016764:Cell Polarity; D048429:Cell Size; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D007365:Intercellular Junctions / Q000378:metabolism*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice
D008565:Membrane Proteins