Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Johnson JM
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3224179 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Dec
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Johnson Jayme M JM Jin Meng M Lew Daniel J DJ
Current opinion in genetics & development 20110928 6
Cell polarity is typically oriented by external cues such as cell-cell contacts, chemoattractants, or morphogen gradients. In the absence of such cues, however, many cells can spontaneously polarize in a random direction, suggesting the existence of an internal polarity-generating mechanism whose direction can be spatially biased by external cues. Spontaneous 'symmetry-breaking' polarization is likely to involve an autocatalytic process set off by small random fluctuations. Here we review recent ...[more]