Transient Tissue-Scale Deformation Coordinates Alignment of Planar Cell Polarity Junctions in the Mammalian Skin.

ABSTRACT: Planar cell polarity (PCP) refers to the collective alignment of polarity along the tissue plane. In skin, the largest mammalian organ, PCP aligns over extremely long distances, but the global cues that orient tissue polarity are unknown. Here, we show that Celsr1 asymmetry arises concomitant with a gradient of tissue deformation oriented along the medial-lateral axis. This uniaxial tissue tension, whose origin remains unknown, transiently transforms basal epithelial cells from initially isotropic and disordered states into highly elongated and aligned morphologies. Reorienting tissue deformation is sufficient to shift the global axis of polarity, suggesting that uniaxial tissue strain can act as a long-range polarizing cue. Observations both in vivo and in vitro suggest that the effect of

SUBMITTER: Aw WY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5005808 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature