Microtubules contributes to the organization of the apical pole in epithelial cells

What is it about?

Epithelia are three dimensional arrangements of cells which delimit two different compartments with conspicuous different composition: the luminal and the basolateral media. The preservation of the identity of those different compartments is an essential function of epithelia, which requires the coordinated organization of distinct apical and basolateral cellular domains. In this paper we characterize the participation of the microtubule cytoskeleton in the development of epithelial cell-apical poles, which is essential for the selective secretion and absorption of molecules to and from the luminal compartment.

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Why is it important?

Traditionally, the microtubule cytoskeleton was viewed as a passive actor in the construction of cell architecture, functioning downstream regulatory molecules that have already been localized by pre-existing spatial cues. The present study shows that, during the establishment of the epithelial polarity, microtubules also drives the symmetry-breaking process enhancing actin organization in bundles of filaments, which is essential for the formation of the epithelial- typical apical microvilli.

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