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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 14, 2026

A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality

A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality

Published on: March 11, 2022

Polarity reveals intrinsic cell chirality.

Jingsong Xu¹, Alexandra Van Keymeulen, Nicole M Wakida

¹Departments of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of California-San Francisco, CA 94158, USA. jingsong@uic.edu

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|May 23, 2007

Summary

Cell polarity direction is predicted by the nucleus-centrosome axis. This intrinsic cellular asymmetry, potentially involving the centrosome, guides directional cell polarization in response to uniform attractants.

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Area of Science:

Cell Biology
Developmental Biology
Biophysics

Background:

Neutrophils and dHL60 cells exhibit random polarization to uniform attractants.
The mechanism dictating individual cell polarization direction remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify factors predicting the direction of attractant-induced cell polarization.
To investigate the role of the nucleus-centrosome axis and associated regulatory pathways in establishing cell polarity.

Main Methods:

Utilized dHL60 cell models responding to uniform f-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP) attractant.
Analyzed the nucleus-centrosome orientation relative to polarization direction.
Perturbed polarity regulatory pathways involving Cdc42, Par6, PKCzeta, dynein, and GSK3beta.
Disrupted microtubules using nocodazole.

Main Results:

The nucleus-centrosome axis orientation strongly predicted subsequent cell polarization direction.
Most cells polarized to the left of the nucleus-centrosome arrow.
Disrupting microtubules or key regulatory proteins (Par6, PKCzeta, dynein) abolished directional bias.
Constitutively active GSK3beta promoted rightward polarization.

Conclusions:

An intrinsic chiral structure, likely the centrosome, may act as a template for cell polarity.
This centrosome-mediated mechanism could establish left-right asymmetry and planar cell polarity during development.