Cell polarity

Cell polarity is the asymmetric organization of a cell’s structure, molecules, or activities into regions with distinct properties or functions.

PAR proteins: A group of polarity-regulating proteins that organize distinct cortical domains in cells. PAR complexes establish and maintain polarized domains in many animal cells.
Plasma membrane: The selectively permeable boundary that separates a cell’s interior from its surroundings. Cell polarity often appears as distinct molecular compositions in different membrane regions.
Neuronal polarity: The organization of a neuron into structurally and functionally distinct axonal and dendritic compartments. Neurons use polarity to send signals away from the cell body and receive them at dendrites.
Cell symmetry: An arrangement in which a cell’s structure or properties remain equivalent across a symmetry operation. Polarity breaks cellular symmetry by creating regions with different properties.
Phosphoinositide: A membrane lipid that helps recruit proteins and organize signaling at specific cellular locations. Uneven phosphoinositide distributions can mark distinct membrane regions.
Epithelial cell: A cell that forms sheets lining body surfaces and cavities. Its apical, lateral, and basal regions exemplify stable, multi-axis polarity.
Planar cell polarity: The coordinated orientation of cells within the plane of an epithelial tissue. It aligns neighboring cells across a tissue without defining apical and basal sides.
Apical-basal polarity: The organization of epithelial cells into apical, lateral, and basal membrane domains. This is a specific, well-studied axis of cell polarity.
Directed transport: The movement of molecules or organelles along cytoskeletal tracks toward particular cellular destinations. Targeted delivery concentrates proteins and membrane components at one pole.
Organelle: A specialized structure within a cell that performs particular functions. Organelles can be positioned asymmetrically as part of a cell’s internal organization.

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