title: From A to Z: apical structures and zona pellucida-domain proteins.
abstract: The terminal differentiation of epithelial cells involves changes in the apical compartment, including remodeling of the cytoskeleton and junctions to modify its three-dimensional organization. It also often triggers the building of specialized extracellular matrices, the function of which remains poorly understood. Hundreds of extracellular matrix proteins expressed in a variety of epithelia possess a conserved region called the zona pellucida-domain (ZP domain). There is evidence to suggest that ZP-domains mediate the polymerization of proteins into fibrils or matrices and that mutation of ZP-domains can result in severe pathologies, such as infertility, deafness, and cancer. Recent work in worms and flies demonstrates that ZP-domain proteins play a crucial role in organizing and shaping highly specialized apical structures in epithelial cells.
authors.affiliation: Université de Toulouse, UPS, Centre de Biologie du Développement, F-31062, Toulouse, France. plaza@cict.fr
authors.forename: Serge
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Plaza
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chanut-Delalande
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Wassarman
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Payre
mesh_terms: D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D007365:Intercellular Junctions; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D015044:Zona Pellucida / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins