title: Regulation of PCP by the Fat signaling pathway.
abstract: Planar cell polarity (PCP) in epithelia, orthogonal to the apical-basal axis, is essential for numerous developmental events and physiological functions. Drosophila model systems have been at the forefront of studies revealing insights into mechanisms regulating PCP and have revealed distinct signaling modules. One of these, involving the atypical cadherins Fat and Dachsous and the ectokinase Four-jointed, appears to link the direction of cell polarization to the tissue axes. We discuss models for the function of this signaling module as well as several unanswered questions that may guide future investigations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Maja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matis
authors.forename: Jeffrey D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Axelrod
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015820:Cadherins / Q000378:metabolism; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000378:metabolism*; D016764:Cell Polarity / Q000502:physiology*; D004330:Drosophila / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D015820:Cadherins; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; C094449:ds protein, Drosophila; C095900:fj protein, Drosophila; C472307:ft protein, Drosophila
keywords: Fat; intercellular signaling; planar cell polarity