Barrow Jeffery R
Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology, 355 WIDB, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA.
Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2006 Apr;17(2):185-93. doi: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2006.04.002. Epub 2006 Apr 18.
Embryonic patterning has traditionally been viewed as the establishment of spatially significant gene expression in response to secreted signals. Recent work has highlighted the role of the Wnt/planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway in patterning tissues. Rather than establishing characteristic arrays of gene expression, however, this pathway functions to institute uniform polarity of cells within a tissue. Cells thus polarized can undergo directed migrations, cell divisions, etc., which are essential for normal morphogenesis. In this review, I will highlight the similarities between mechanisms that establish patterns of polarity between Drosophila and vertebrates. Further, I will discuss recent advances with regard to Wnt/PCP signaling in vertebrates.
传统上，胚胎模式形成被视为是对分泌信号作出反应而建立具有空间意义的基因表达。最近的研究突出了Wnt/平面细胞极性（PCP）信号通路在组织模式形成中的作用。然而，该信号通路并非建立基因表达的特征性阵列，而是起着在组织内建立细胞统一极性的作用。如此极化的细胞能够进行定向迁移、细胞分裂等，这些对于正常形态发生至关重要。在这篇综述中，我将着重介绍果蝇和脊椎动物中建立极性模式的机制之间的相似性。此外，我还将讨论脊椎动物中Wnt/PCP信号传导方面的最新进展。
