Planar cell polarity of the kidney

Planar cell polarity (PCP) or tissue polarity refers to the polarization of tissues perpendicular to the apical-basal axis. Most epithelia, including the vertebrate kidney, show signs of planar polarity. In the kidney, defects in planar polarity are attributed to several disease states including multiple forms of cystic kidney disease. Indeed, planar cell polarity has been shown to be essential for several cellular processes that appear to be necessary for establishing and maintaining tubule diameter. However, uncovering the genetic mechanisms underlying PCP in the kidney has been complicated as the roles of many of the main players are not conserved in flies and vice versa. Here, we review a number of cellular and molecular processes that can affect PCP of the kidney with a particular emphasis on the mechanisms that do not appear to be conserved in flies or that are not part of canonical determinants.