title: Integration of planar cell polarity and ECM signaling in elongation of the vertebrate body plan.
abstract: The shaping of the vertebrate embryonic body plan depends heavily on the narrowing and lengthening (convergence and extension) of embryonic tissues by cell intercalation, a process by which cells actively crawl between one another along the axis of convergence to produce a narrower, longer array. We discuss recent evidence that the vertebrate non-canonical Wnt/Planar Cell Polarity (PCP) pathway, known to directly function in polarizing the movements of intercalating cells, is also involved in the localized assembly of extracellular matrix (ECM). These cell-ECM interactions, in turn, are necessary for expression of the oriented, polarized cell intercalation. The mechanism of PCP/ECM interactions, their molecular signaling, and their mechanical consequences for morphogenesis are discussed with the goal of identifying important unsolved issues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Skoglund
authors.forename: Ray
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Keller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016764:Cell Polarity; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000502:physiology; D009024:Morphogenesis; D009672:Notochord / Q000254:growth & development*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D051153:Wnt Proteins / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D051153:Wnt Proteins