AUTHOR=Wright Bree A. , Kvansakul Marc , Schierwater Bernd , Humbert Patrick O. 

TITLE=Cell polarity signalling at the birth of multicellularity: What can we learn from the first animals

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cell-and-developmental-biology/articles/10.3389/fcell.2022.1024489

DOI=10.3389/fcell.2022.1024489

ISSN=2296-634X

ABSTRACT=The innovation of multicellularity has driven the unparalleled evolution of animals (Metazoa).
20 But how is a multicellular organism formed and how is its architecture maintained faithfully?
21 The defining properties and rules required for the establishment of the architecture of
22 multicellular organisms include the development of adhesive cell interactions, orientation of
23 division axis, and the ability to reposition daughter cells over long distances. Central to all
24 these properties is the ability to generate asymmetry (polarity), coordinated by a highly
25 conserved set of proteins known as cell polarity regulators. The cell polarity complexes,
26 Scribble, Par and Crumbs, are considered to be a metazoan innovation with apicobasal
27 polarity and adherens junctions both believed to be present in all animals. A better
28 understanding of the fundamental mechanisms regulating cell polarity and tissue
29 architecture should provide key insights into the development and regeneration of all animals
30 including humans. Here we review what is currently known about cell polarity and its control
31 in the most basal metazoans, and how these first examples of multicellular life can inform us
32 about the core mechanisms of tissue organisation and repair, and ultimately diseases of
33 tissue organisation, such as cancer.