Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Evaluation of Planar-Cell-Polarity Phenotypes in Ciliopathy Mouse Mutant Cochlea
Published on: February 21, 2016
Frizzled/PCP signalling: a conserved mechanism regulating cell polarity and directed motility
Jessica R K Seifert1, Marek Mlodzik
1Brookdale Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY 10029, USA.
Abstract:
Signalling through Frizzled (Fz)/planar cell polarity (PCP) is a conserved mechanism that polarizes cells along specific axes in a tissue. Genetic screens in Drosophila melanogaster pioneered the discovery of core PCP factors, which regulate the orientation of hairs on wings and facets in eyes. Recent genetic evidence shows that the Fz/PCP pathway is conserved in vertebrates and is crucial for disparate processes as gastrulation and sensory cell orientation. Fz/PCP signalling depends on complex interactions between core components, leading to their asymmetric distribution and ultimately polarized activity in a cell. Whereas several mechanistic aspects of PCP have been uncovered, the global coordination of this polarization remains debated.
Related Concept Videos
Mechanism of Filopodia Formation
Their main function is to guide migrating cells during normal tissue morphogenesis or cancer metastasis by recognizing and making initial contacts with the extracellular matrix. However, they can also act as stationary cell anchors or help to establish communication...
Cell Polarization by Rho Proteins
Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways
Mechanism of Lamellipodia Formation
Cytoskeletal Coordination in Cell Migration
Cell Motility through Blebbing
Blebbing Through the Matrix
In multicellular...

