Transient junction anisotropies orient annular cell polarization in the Drosophila airway tubes

In contrast to planes, three-dimensional (3D) structures such as tubes are physically anisotropic. Tubular organs exhibit a striking orientation of landmarks according to the physical anisotropy of the 3D shape, in addition to planar cell polarization. However, the influence of 3D tissue topography on the constituting cells remains underexplored. Here, we identify a regulatory network polarizing cellular biochemistry according to the physical anisotropy of the 3D tube geometry (tube cell polarization) by a genome-wide, tissue-specific RNAi screen. During Drosophila airway remodelling, each apical cellular junction is equipotent to establish perpendicular actomyosin cables, irrespective of the longitudinal or transverse tube axis. A dynamic transverse enrichment of atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) shifts the balance and transiently targets activated small GTPase RhoA, myosin phosphorylation and Rab11 vesicle trafficking to longitudinal junctions. We propose that the PAR complex translates tube physical anisotropy into longitudinal junctional anisotropy, where cell-cell communication aligns the contractile cytoskeleton of neighbouring cells.