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Cell polarity in development and cancer

Nature Cell Biology volume 9, pages 1016–1024 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

The development of cancer is a multistep process in which the DNA of a single cell accumulates mutations in genes that control essential cellular processes. Loss of cell–cell adhesion and cell polarity is commonly observed in advanced tumours and correlates well with their invasion into adjacent tissues and the formation of metastases. Growing evidence indicates that loss of cell–cell adhesion and cell polarity may also be important in early stages of cancer. The strongest hints in this direction come from studies on tumour suppressor genes in the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster, which have revealed their importance in the control of apical–basal cell polarity.

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Figure 1: Epithelial polarity and tissue organization are closely linked.
Figure 2: PAR-6 and other members of the PAR–aPKC complex are central components of signalling pathways that control polarity and proliferation.
Figure 3: Defects in the asymmetric division of stem cells may lead to the formation of tumours.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Claudia Binder, Olaf Bossinger and Tobias Pukrop for critical comments on the manuscript. Work in our laboratories is funded by grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG Research Center for Molecular Physiology of the Brain (CMPB), Sonderforschungsbereich 523) to A.W. and by Cancer Research UK to I.N.

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  1. Andreas Wodarz is in the Department of Stem Cell Biology, DFG Research Center for Molecular Physiology of the Brain (CMPB), University of Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany. awodarz@gwdg.de,

    Andreas Wodarz

  2. Inke Näthke is in Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Dundee, WTB/MSI, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK. inke@lifesci.dundee.ac.uk,

    Inke Näthke

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Wodarz, A., Näthke, I. Cell polarity in development and cancer. Nat Cell Biol 9, 1016–1024 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb433

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