Cell Polarity as a Regulator of Cancer Cell Behavior Plasticity

Abstract

Cell polarization is an evolutionarily conserved process that facilitates asymmetric distribution of organelles and proteins, is an evolutionarily conserved property that is modified dynamically during physiological processes such as cell division, migration, and morphogenesis. The plasticity with which cells change their behavior and phenotype in response to cell intrinsic and extrinsic cues is an essential feature of normal physiology. In disease states such as cancer, cells lose their ability to behave normally in response to physiological cues. A molecular understanding of mechanisms that alter the behavior of cancer cells is limited. Cell polarity proteins are an recognized class of molecules that can receive and interpret both intrinsic and extrinsic signals to modulate cell behavior. In this review, we discuss how cell polarity proteins regulate a diverse array of biological processes and how they can contribute to alterations in the behavior of cancer cells.

The N and C Termini of ZO-1 Are Surrounded by Distinct Proteins and Functional Protein Networks

“…However, recent data suggest that along with a minor function in apical/basolateral polarity (52), a number of the identified proteins, notably SCRIB, VANG, and DVL, are implicated in control of planar cell polarity and directed cell migration (reviewed in Ref. 67).…”

Integrins and epithelial cell polarity

“…In many tissues, the apical surface of the cell faces towards the external environment whereas the basolateral surface sits adjacent to an internal-facing basement membrane. Deciphering mechanisms that control the orientation of polarity is crucial for understanding how epithelial barriers work, and how disrupted polarity causes carcinomas, lumenopathies and other epithelial diseases Kao, 2013;Muthuswamy and Xue, 2012).…”

PLEKHG3 enhances polarized cell migration by activating actin filaments at the cell front

“…PLEKHG3 | cell polarity | F-actin binding | positive feedback | PI3K C ell polarity is essential for many cellular processes: It allows neurons to form dendrites and axons, enables dividing cells to produce daughter cells, engenders fibroblasts with wound-healing activity, and gives leukocytes the ability to crawl to infection sites (1,2). Cell polarity is modulated by signaling cascades that center around the action of phosphoinositide kinases, the activation of Rho small GTPases by phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-Tris phosphate (PIP 3 , a lipid product of PI3Ks), and the activity of F-actin (3,4).…”