title: Wnt/PCP signaling: a veritable polar star in establishing patterns of polarity in embryonic tissues.
abstract: Embryonic patterning has traditionally been viewed as the establishment of spatially significant gene expression in response to secreted signals. Recent work has highlighted the role of the Wnt/planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway in patterning tissues. Rather than establishing characteristic arrays of gene expression, however, this pathway functions to institute uniform polarity of cells within a tissue. Cells thus polarized can undergo directed migrations, cell divisions, etc., which are essential for normal morphogenesis. In this review, I will highlight the similarities between mechanisms that establish patterns of polarity between Drosophila and vertebrates. Further, I will discuss recent advances with regard to Wnt/PCP signaling in vertebrates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology, 355 WIDB, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA. jeff_barrow@byu.edu
authors.forename: Jeffery R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Barrow
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019521:Body Patterning; D016764:Cell Polarity; D004330:Drosophila / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D051153:Wnt Proteins / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D051153:Wnt Proteins