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Brief Communication

Nature Genetics 38, 21–23 (1 January 2006) | doi:10.1038/ng1701

Defective planar cell polarity in polycystic kidney disease

Evelyne Fischer , Emilie Legue , Antonia Doyen , Faridabano Nato , Jean-Fran|[ccedil]|ois Nicolas , Vicente Torres , Moshe Yaniv & Marco Pontoglio

Morphogenesis involves coordinated proliferation, differentiation and spatial distribution of cells. We show that lengthening of renal tubules is associated with mitotic orientation of cells along the tubule axis, demonstrating intrinsic planar cell polarization, and we demonstrate that mitotic orientations are significantly distorted in rodent polycystic kidney models.