Cell polarity pathways converge and extend to regulate neural tube closure.
Neural tube defects, such as spinabifida, craniorachischisis and anencephaly, are some of the most common birth defects in humans. Recent studies in mouse model systems suggest that craniorachischisis is associated with mutations in genes that regulate cell polarity. Using Xenopus as a model system, Wallingford and Harland have now shed light on the mechanism by which these pathways affect neural tube closure.
Zohn
Irene E
IE
Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Developmental Biology Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, USA.
Chesnutt
Catherine R
CR
Niswander
Lee
L
D000818:Animals; D016764:Cell Polarity / Q000502:physiology*; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology*; D006801:Humans; D009436:Neural Tube Defects / Q000196:embryology* / Q000473:pathology*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000196:embryology*