Planar cell polarity-directed cell crawling drives polarized epithelial morphogenesis.
Rishabh Sharan1, XinXin Du2, Liliya Leybova1
1Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
Current Biology : CB
|June 23, 2026
Summary
Planar cell polarity (PCP) directs hair placode cell crawling on the basal surface, not apical neighbor exchanges. This basal force generation drives collective cell flows crucial for tissue development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Cell Biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Epithelial morphogenesis relies on coordinated cell behaviors.
- Planar cell polarity (PCP) orients cells within tissues.
- Hair placode formation involves complex cell movements.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the role of PCP in hair placode morphogenesis.
- Determine how cell-scale forces drive collective cell flows.
- Identify the molecular mechanisms underlying PCP-directed cell movements.
Main Methods:
- Combined experimental approaches with computational modeling.
- Analyzed junctional myosin and PCP protein localization.
- Investigated the role of integrins and Rac1 in cell crawling.
- Modeled the placode as a 3D continuum viscoelastic fluid.
Main Results:
- PCP does not direct apical neighbor exchanges via junction shrinkage.
- PCP promotes anterior-directed cell crawling on the basal surface.
- Integrins and Rac1 are required for PCP-mediated cell crawling.
- Basal cell crawling forces generate apical counter-rotational cell motion.
Conclusions:
- PCP's role in placode polarization centers on basal force generation.
- Basal cell crawling, regulated by PCP, integrins, and Rac1, drives tissue morphogenesis.
- The basal surface is identified as the primary site of force generation in this process.
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