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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 30, 2026

The C. elegans Intestine As a Model for Intercellular Lumen Morphogenesis and In Vivo Polarized Membrane Biogenesis at the Single-cell Level: Labeling by Antibody Staining, RNAi Loss-of-function Analysis and Imaging

The C. elegans Intestine As a Model for Intercellular Lumen Morphogenesis and In Vivo Polarized Membrane Biogenesis at the Single-cell Level: Labeling by Antibody Staining, RNAi Loss-of-function Analysis and Imaging

Published on: October 3, 2017

Epithelial polarity and morphogenesis.

Daniel St Johnston¹, Bénédicte Sanson

¹The Gurdon Institute and the Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Rd, Cambridge CB2 1QN, United Kingdom. d.stjohnston@gurdon.cam.ac.uk

Current Opinion in Cell Biology

|August 3, 2011

Summary

Modifications in the apical-basal polarity system drive epithelial morphogenesis. These changes alter cell shape and tissue movements, crucial for organism development.

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Imaging and Analysis of Tissue Orientation and Growth Dynamics in the Developing Drosophila Epithelia During Pupal Stages

Imaging and Analysis of Tissue Orientation and Growth Dynamics in the Developing Drosophila Epithelia During Pupal Stages

Published on: June 2, 2020

Area of Science:

Developmental Biology
Cell Biology
Genetics

Background:

Multicellular organism development relies on morphogenesis, organizing cells into tissues and organs.
Epithelial cell sheets, polarized along apical-basal axes and connected by lateral junctions, are central to these processes.

Purpose of the Study:

To discuss the role of apical-basal polarity system modifications in driving morphogenesis.
To emphasize well-characterized events during Drosophila development.

Main Methods:

Review of existing literature on epithelial cell polarity and morphogenesis.
Focus on Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism.

Main Results:

Altered polarity factor activity changes apical, lateral, and basal domain sizes, influencing epithelial morphology (cuboidal, columnar, squamous).
Polarity changes induce wedge-shaped cells, driving tissue bending and invagination.
Planar polarized modulation of polarity factors affects actomyosin contractility and adherens junction stability, leading to cell rearrangements for convergence, extension, and alignment.

Conclusions:

Apical-basal polarity is a key regulator of epithelial morphogenesis.
Modulations in polarity drive diverse morphogenetic events, including shape transitions and tissue movements.
Planar cell polarity adds another layer of regulation to cell rearrangements during development.