title: Insight into planar cell polarity.
abstract: Planar cell polarity or PCP refers to a uniform cellular organization within the plan, typically orthogonal to the apico-basal polarity axis. As such, PCP provides directional cues that control and coordinate the integration of cells in tissues to build a living organism. Although dysfunctions of this fundamental cellular process have been convincingly linked to the etiology of various pathologies such as cancer and developmental defects, the molecular mechanisms governing its establishment and maintenance remain poorly understood. Here, we review some aspects of invertebrate and vertebrate PCPs, highlighting similarities and differences, and discuss the prevalence of the non-canonical Wnt signaling as a central PCP pathway, as well as recent findings on the importance of cell contractility and cilia as promising avenues of investigation.
authors.affiliation: CRCM, "Equipe labellisée Ligue Contre le Cancer", Inserm, U1068, Marseille F-13009, France; Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille F-13009, France; CNRS, UMR7258, Marseille F-13009, France; Aix-Marseille University, F-13284 Marseille, France. Electronic address: michael.sebbagh@inserm.fr.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sebbagh
authors.affiliation: CRCM, "Equipe labellisée Ligue Contre le Cancer", Inserm, U1068, Marseille F-13009, France; Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille F-13009, France; CNRS, UMR7258, Marseille F-13009, France; Aix-Marseille University, F-13284 Marseille, France. Electronic address: Jean-Paul.borg@inserm.fr.
authors.forename: Jean-Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Borg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016764:Cell Polarity / Q000502:physiology*; D002923:Cilia / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D051153:Wnt Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D060449:Wnt Signaling Pathway / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D051153:Wnt Proteins
keywords: Cilium; Contratility; Diseases; Planar cell polarity; Wnt signaling