Commentary abstract
Nature Cell Biology 10, 1379 - 1382 (2008)
doi:10.1038/ncb1208-1379
Do the protocadherins Fat and Dachsous link up to determine both planar cell polarity and the dimensions of organs?
Peter A. Lawrence1, Gary Struhl2 & José Casal3
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Peter A. Lawrence is in the Department of Zoology, Downing Street, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Hills Rd, Cambridge CB2 0QH, UK.
e-mail: pal@mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk - Gary Struhl is at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, 101 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA.
- José Casal is in the Department of Zoology, Downing Street, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK.
Abstract
Most, perhaps all cells in epithelial sheets are polarized in the plane of the sheet. This type of polarity, referred to as planar cell polarity (PCP), can be expressed in the orientation of cilia and stereocilia, in oriented outgrowths such as hairs, in the plane of cell division, in directed cell movement and possibly in the orientation of axon extension1, 2. Another popular area in current research is growth: there is an attempt to find systems that fix the shape and size of organs. Although both polarity and growth are subject to overall control by morphogen gradients3, the mechanisms of this control are almost completely unknown. Here we discuss recent evidence for a 'steepness hypothesis' that links these two apparently disconnected features of animal development.
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