A one-dimensional model of PCP signaling: polarized cell behavior in the notochord of the ascidian Ciona.
Dev Biol
; 395(1): 120-30, 2014 Nov 01.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-25173874
ABSTRACT
Despite its importance in development and physiology the planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway remains one of the most enigmatic signaling mechanisms. The notochord of the ascidian Ciona provides a unique model for investigating the PCP pathway. Interestingly, the notochord appears to be the only embryonic structure in Ciona activating the PCP pathway. Moreover, the Ciona notochord as a single-file array of forty polarized cells is a uniquely tractable system for the study of polarization dynamics and the transmission of the PCP pathway. Here, we test models for propagation of a polarizing signal, interrogating temporal, spatial and signaling requirements. A simple cell-cell relay cascading through the entire length of the notochord is not supported; instead a more complex mechanism is revealed, with interactions influencing polarity between neighboring cells, but not distant ones. Mechanisms coordinating notochord-wide polarity remain elusive, but appear to entrain general (i.e., global) polarity even while local interactions remain important. However, this global polarizer does not appear to act as a localized, spatially-restricted determinant. Coordination of polarity along the long axis of the notochord requires the PCP pathway, a role we demonstrate is temporally distinct from this pathway's earlier role in convergent extension and intercalation. We also reveal polarity in the notochord to be dynamic a cell's polarity state can be changed and then restored, underscoring the Ciona notochord's amenability for in vivo studies of PCP.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Transducción de Señal
/
Ciona intestinalis
/
Tipificación del Cuerpo
/
Embrión no Mamífero
/
Notocorda
Límite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Dev Biol
Año:
2014
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos