Mechanical strain determines the axis of planar polarity in ciliated epithelia

Dual role of Xenopus Odf2 in multiciliated cell patterning and differentiation

In developing tissues, the number, position, and differentiation of cells must be coordinately controlled to ensure the emergence of physiological function. The epidermis of the Xenopus embryo contains thousands of uniformly distributed multiciliated cells (MCCs), which grow hundreds of coordinately polarized cilia that beat vigorously to generate superficial water flow. Using this model, we uncovered a dual role for the conserved centriolar component Odf2, in MCC apical organization at the cell level, and in MCC spatial distribution at the tissue level. Like in other species, Xenopus Odf2 localized to the basal foot of basal bodies. Consistently, Odf2 morpholino-mediated knockdown impaired basal foot morphogenesis. Consequently, the rate of microtubule nucleation by Odf2-deficient basal bodies was reduced, leading to cilia disorientation, reduced beating, and ultimately altered flow production across the embryo. Furthermore, we show that Odf2 is required to maintain MCC motility and homotypic repulsion prior to their emergence into the surface layer. Our data suggest that Odf2 promotes MCC spacing via its role in the modulation of cytoplasmic microtubule dynamics. Mathematical simulations confirmed that reduced migration speed alters the spacing order of MCCs. This study provides a striking example of coupling between organizational scales by a unique effector.

Protein Kinase C Inhibition Overcomes Targeted Therapy Resistance in Cutaneous Melanoma

WNT5a expression is associated with a MAPK inhibitor resistant phenotype in melanoma driving cell polarity and invasion. No small molecules specifically targeting WNT5a are available. Promising results of targeting non-canonical WNT5a-dependent WNT signalling with a pan-PKC inhibitor in uveal melanoma prompted us to investigate the relevance of PKC inhibition in cutaneous melanoma. We revealed PKC signalling and WNT5a expression to be associated in a positive feedback loop, suggesting pan-PKC inhibitor as a potent inhibitor of WNT5a in cutaneous melanoma. Combinatorial PKC and MAPK pathway inhibition significantly reduced proliferation and invasion by induction of apoptosis in targeted therapy-resistant melanoma in vitro. In in vivo xenograft studies, we found less proliferation and apoptosis induction in the PKC inhibitor single and combination treatment group with MAPK pathway inhibitors than in the standard of care treatment group. Thus, targeting the non-canonical WNT signalling pathway via combinatorial PKC and MAPK pathway inhibition is beneficial for therapy-resistant cutaneous melanoma combating tumour heterogeneity in vivo. With our study, we are providing an alternate treatment strategy we think is worth investigating as future clinical interventions in cutaneous melanoma.

The TissueTractor: A Device for Applying Large Strains to Tissues and Cells for Simultaneous High-Resolution Live Cell Microscopy

Mechanical strain substantially influences tissue shape and function in various contexts from embryonic development to disease progression. Disruptions in these processes can result in congenital abnormalities and short-circuit mechanotransduction pathways. Manipulating strain in live tissues is crucial for understanding its impact on cellular and subcellular activities, unraveling the interplay between mechanics and cells. Existing tools, such as optogenetic modulation of strain, are limited to small strains over limited distances and durations. Here, a high-strain stretcher system, the TissueTractor, is introduced to enable simultaneous high-resolution spatiotemporal imaging of live cells and tissues under strain applications varying from 0% to over 100%. We use the system with organotypic explants from Xenopus laevis embryos, where applied tension reveals cellular strain heterogeneity and remodeling of intracellular keratin filaments. To highlight the device's adaptability, the TissueTractor is also used to study two other mechanically sensitive cell types with distinct physiological roles: human umbilical vein endothelial cells and mouse neonatal cardiomyocytes, revealing cell morphological changes under significant strain. The results underscore the potential of the TissueTractor for investigating mechanical cues that regulate tissue dynamics and morphogenesis.

Tissue shear as a cue for aligning planar polarity in the developing Drosophila wing

Planar polarity establishment in epithelia requires interpretation of directional tissue-level information at cellular and molecular levels. Mechanical forces exerted during tissue morphogenesis are emerging as crucial tissue-level directional cues, yet the mechanisms by which they regulate planar polarity are poorly understood. Using the Drosophila pupal wing, we confirm that tissue stress promotes proximal-distal (PD) planar polarity alignment. Moreover, high tissue stress anisotropy can reduce the rate of accumulation and lower the stability on cell junctions of the core planar polarity protein Frizzled (Fz). Notably, under high tissue stress anisotropy, we see an increased gradient of cell flow, characterised by differential velocities across adjacent cell rows. This promotes core protein turnover at cell-cell contacts parallel to the flow direction, possibly via dissociation of transmembrane complexes by shear forces. We propose that gradients of cell flow play a critical role in establishing and maintaining PD-oriented polarity alignment in the developing pupal wing.

Diversity of microtubule arrays in animal cells at a glance

Microtubules are cytoskeletal filaments important for various cellular processes such as intracellular transport, cell division, polarization and migration. Microtubule organization goes hand in hand with cellular function. Motile cells, such as immune cells or fibroblasts, contain microtubule asters attached to the centrosome and the Golgi complex, whereas in many other differentiated cells, microtubules form linear arrays or meshworks anchored at membrane-bound organelles or the cell cortex. Over the past decade, new developments in cell culture, genome editing and microscopy have greatly advanced our understanding of complex microtubule arrays. In this Cell Science at a Glance article and the accompanying poster, we review the diversity of microtubule arrays in interphase animal cells. We describe microtubule network geometries present in various differentiated cells, explore the variety in microtubule-organizing centers responsible for these geometries, and discuss examples of microtubule reorganization in response to functional changes and their interplay with cell motility and tissue development.

Tissue mechanics modulate morphogen signalling to induce the head organiser

Morphogenetic movements and specification of germ layers during gastrulation are key processes that establish the vertebrate body plan. Despite substantial research into the role of tissue mechanics during gastrulation and detailed characterisation of the molecular signalling networks controlling fate determination, the interplay of mechanical cues and biochemical signals during fate specification is poorly understood. Morphogens that activate Activin/Nodal/Smad2 signalling play a key role in mesoderm induction and axial patterning. We investigate the interplay between a single molecular input and a mechanical input using the well-established ex vivo system of Activin-induced explants of the mid-blastula X. laevis animal cap ectoderm. Activin alone induces mesoderm to form a complex elongating tissue with axial patterning, making this system similar to gastruloids generated in other model organisms. We observed an increase in the expression of dorsal mesoderm markers, such as chordin and goosecoid, and loss of elongation, in Activin-induced explants that were mechanically stimulated through uniaxial compression during the induction period. In addition, head mesoderm specific markers, including cerberus 1, were also increased. We show that mechanical stimulation leads to an increase in nuclear β-catenin activity. Activation of β-catenin signalling is sufficient to induce head Organiser gene expression. Furthermore, inhibition of β-catenin is sufficient to rescue the effect of compression on an early Wnt-signalling response gene siamois. Taken together these observations support the role of mechanical stimulation in modulating Activin-dependent mesoderm induction in favour of head Organiser formation. Given the conserved role of β-catenin in the dorsal specification and the dynamic morphogenetic movements of dorsal gastrula regions, mechanics-dependent Organiser induction may be found in other vertebrate species. Finally, the finding that mechanical cues affect β-catenin-dependent axial specification can be applied in the future development of more biologically relevant and robust synthetic organoid systems.

Centriole Translational Planar Polarity in Monociliated Epithelia

Ciliated epithelia are widespread in animals and play crucial roles in many developmental and physiological processes. Epithelia composed of multi-ciliated cells allow for directional fluid flow in the trachea, oviduct and brain cavities. Monociliated epithelia play crucial roles in vertebrate embryos, from the establishment of left-right asymmetry to the control of axis curvature via cerebrospinal flow motility in zebrafish. Cilia also have a central role in the motility and feeding of free-swimming larvae in a variety of marine organisms. These diverse functions rely on the coordinated orientation (rotational polarity) and asymmetric localization (translational polarity) of cilia and of their centriole-derived basal bodies across the epithelium, both being forms of planar cell polarity (PCP). Here, we review our current knowledge on the mechanisms of the translational polarity of basal bodies in vertebrate monociliated epithelia from the molecule to the whole organism. We highlight the importance of live imaging for understanding the dynamics of centriole polarization. We review the roles of core PCP pathways and of apicobasal polarity proteins, such as Par3, whose central function in this process has been recently uncovered. Finally, we emphasize the importance of the coordination between polarity proteins, the cytoskeleton and the basal body itself in this highly dynamic process.

The role of prickle proteins in vertebrate development and pathology

Prickle is an evolutionarily conserved family of proteins exclusively associated with planar cell polarity (PCP) signalling. This signalling pathway provides directional and positional cues to eukaryotic cells along the plane of an epithelial sheet, orthogonal to both apicobasal and left-right axes. Through studies in the fruit fly Drosophila, we have learned that PCP signalling is manifested by the spatial segregation of two protein complexes, namely Prickle/Vangl and Frizzled/Dishevelled. While Vangl, Frizzled, and Dishevelled proteins have been extensively studied, Prickle has been largely neglected. This is likely because its role in vertebrate development and pathologies is still being explored and is not yet fully understood. The current review aims to address this gap by summarizing our current knowledge on vertebrate Prickle proteins and to cover their broad versatility. Accumulating evidence suggests that Prickle is involved in many developmental events, contributes to homeostasis, and can cause diseases when its expression and signalling properties are deregulated. This review highlights the importance of Prickle in vertebrate development, discusses the implications of Prickle-dependent signalling in pathology, and points out the blind spots or potential links regarding Prickle, which could be studied further.

Local coordination of epithelial planar polarity in the maintenance and regeneration of the adult rat airway

The maintenance of planar polarity in airway multiciliated cells (MCCs) has been poorly characterized. We recently reported that the direction of ciliary beating in a surgically inverted tracheal segment remained inverted beyond the time required for the turnover of cells, without adjustment to global distal-to-proximal polarity. We hypothesized that the local maintenance of tissue-level polarity occurs via locally reproduced cells. To provide further insight regarding this hypothetical property, we performed allotransplantation of an inverted tracheal segment between wild-type (donor) and tdTomato-expressing (host) rats, with and without scratching the mucosa of the transplants. The origin of cells in the transplants was assessed using tdTomato-specific immunostaining. Ciliary movement and structures were observed by high-speed video and electron microscopy to analyze MCC orientations. Variabilities in the orientations of closely and distantly located MCCs were analyzed to evaluate the local- and broad-scale coordination of polarity, respectively. The epithelium was maintained by donor-derived cells in the non-scratched inverted transplant over 6 months, beyond one cycle of turnover. The inverted orientation of MCCs was also maintained throughout the non-scratched transplant. MCCs regenerated in the scratched transplant were derived from the host and exhibited diverse orientations across the transplant. However, the orientations of adjacent regenerated MCCs were often coordinated, indicating that airway MCCs can locally coordinate their orientations. A steady-state airway may maintain MCC orientation by locally reproducing MCCs via the local coordination of polarity. This local coordination enables the formation and maintenance of tissue-level polarity in small regions after mucosal injury.

Geometric control of myosin II orientation during axis elongation

The actomyosin cytoskeleton is a crucial driver of morphogenesis. Yet how the behavior of large-scale cytoskeletal patterns in deforming tissues emerges from the interplay of geometry, genetics, and mechanics remains incompletely understood. Convergent extension in Drosophila melanogaster embryos provides the opportunity to establish a quantitative understanding of the dynamics of anisotropic non-muscle myosin II. Cell-scale analysis of protein localization in fixed embryos suggests that gene expression patterns govern myosin anisotropy via complex rules. However, technical limitations have impeded quantitative and dynamic studies of this process at the whole embryo level, leaving the role of geometry open. Here, we combine in toto live imaging with quantitative analysis of molecular dynamics to characterize the distribution of myosin anisotropy and the corresponding genetic patterning. We found pair rule gene expression continuously deformed, flowing with the tissue frame. In contrast, myosin anisotropy orientation remained approximately static and was only weakly deflected from the stationary dorsal-ventral axis of the embryo. We propose that myosin is recruited by a geometrically defined static source, potentially related to the embryo-scale epithelial tension, and account for transient deflections by cytoskeletal turnover and junction reorientation by flow. With only one parameter, this model quantitatively accounts for the time course of myosin anisotropy orientation in wild-type, twist, and even-skipped embryos, as well as embryos with perturbed egg geometry. Geometric patterning of the cytoskeleton suggests a simple physical strategy to ensure a robust flow and formation of shape.

Wnt4 and ephrinB2 instruct apical constriction via Dishevelled and non-canonical signaling

Apical constriction is a cell shape change critical to vertebrate neural tube closure, and the contractile force required for this process is generated by actin-myosin networks. The signaling cue that instructs this process has remained elusive. Here, we identify Wnt4 and the transmembrane ephrinB2 protein as playing an instructive role in neural tube closure as members of a signaling complex we termed WERDS (Wnt4, EphrinB2, Ror2, Dishevelled (Dsh2), and Shroom3). Disruption of function or interaction among members of the WERDS complex results in defects of apical constriction and neural tube closure. The mechanism of action involves an interaction of ephrinB2 with the Dsh2 scaffold protein that enhances the formation of the WERDS complex, which in turn, activates Rho-associated kinase to induce apical constriction. Moreover, the ephrinB2/Dsh2 interaction promotes non-canonical Wnt signaling and shows how cross-talk between two major signal transduction pathways, Eph/ephrin and Wnt, coordinate morphogenesis of the neural tube.

Wnt/planar cell polarity signaling controls morphogenetic movements of gastrulation and neural tube closure

Gastrulation and neurulation are successive morphogenetic processes that play key roles in shaping the basic embryonic body plan. Importantly, they operate through common cellular and molecular mechanisms to set up the three spatially organized germ layers and to close the neural tube. During gastrulation and neurulation, convergent extension movements driven by cell intercalation and oriented cell division generate major forces to narrow the germ layers along the mediolateral axis and elongate the embryo in the anteroposterior direction. Apical constriction also makes an important contribution to promote the formation of the blastopore and the bending of the neural plate. Planar cell polarity proteins are major regulators of asymmetric cell behaviors and critically involved in a wide variety of developmental processes, from gastrulation and neurulation to organogenesis. Mutations of planar cell polarity genes can lead to general defects in the morphogenesis of different organs and the co-existence of distinct congenital diseases, such as spina bifida, hearing deficits, kidney diseases, and limb elongation defects. This review outlines our current understanding of non-canonical Wnt signaling, commonly known as Wnt/planar cell polarity signaling, in regulating morphogenetic movements of gastrulation and neural tube closure during development and disease. It also attempts to identify unanswered questions that deserve further investigations.

Coordination of Cilia Movements in Multi-Ciliated Cells

Multiple motile cilia are formed at the apical surface of multi-ciliated cells in the epithelium of the oviduct or the fallopian tube, the trachea, and the ventricle of the brain. Those cilia beat unidirectionally along the tissue axis, and this provides a driving force for directed movements of ovulated oocytes, mucus, and cerebrospinal fluid in each of these organs. Furthermore, cilia movements show temporal coordination between neighboring cilia. To establish such coordination of cilia movements, cilia need to sense and respond to various cues, including the organ's orientation and movements of neighboring cilia. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms by which cilia movements of multi-ciliated cells are coordinated, focusing on planar cell polarity and the cytoskeleton, and highlight open questions for future research.

Ciliate cortical organization and dynamics for cell motility: Comparing ciliates and vertebrates

The generation of efficient fluid flow is crucial for organismal development and homeostasis, sexual reproduction, and motility. Multi-ciliated cells possess fields of motile cilia that beat in synchrony to propel fluid. Ciliary arrays are remarkably conserved in their organization and function. Ciliates have polarized multi-ciliary arrays (MCAs) to promote fluid flow for cell motility. The ciliate cortex is decorated with hundreds of basal bodies (BB) forming linear rows along the cell's anterior-posterior axis. BBs scaffold and position cilia to form the organized ciliary array. Nascent BBs assemble at the base of BBs. As nascent BBs mature, they integrate into the cortical BB and cytoskeletal network and nucleate their own cilium. The organization of MCAs is balanced between cortical stability and cortical dynamism. The cortical cytoskeletal network both establishes and maintains a stable organization of the MCA in the face of mechanical forces exerted by ciliary beating. At the same time, MCA organization is plastic, such that it remodels for optimal ciliary mobility during development and in response to environmental conditions. Such plasticity promotes effective feeding and ecological behavior required for these organisms. Together, these properties allow an organism to effectively sense, adapt to, and move through its environment.

Cell disorientation by loss of SHH-dependent mechanosensation causes cyclopia

The physical causes of organ malformation remain largely unclear in most cases due to a lack of information on tissue/cell dynamics. Here, we address this issue by considering onset of cyclopia in sonic hedgehog (SHH)-inhibited chick embryos. We show that ventral forebrain-specific self-organization ability driven by SHH-dependent polarized patterns in cell shape, phosphorylated myosin localization, and collective cell motion promotes optic vesicle elongation during normal development. Stress loading tests revealed that these polarized dynamics result from mechanical responses. In particular, stress and active tissue deformation satisfy orthogonality, defining an SHH-regulated morphogenetic law. Without SHH signaling, cells cannot detect the direction of stress and move randomly, leading to insufficient optic vesicle elongation and consequently a cyclopia phenotype. Since polarized tissue/cell dynamics are common in organogenesis, cell disorientation caused by loss of mechanosensation could be a pathogenic mechanism for other malformations.

Alignment of the cell long axis by unidirectional tension acts cooperatively with Wnt signalling to establish planar cell polarity

Planar cell polarity (PCP) is the aligned cell polarity within a tissue plane. Mechanical signals are known to act as a global cue for PCP, yet their exact role is still unclear. In this study, we focused on PCP in the posterior neuroectoderm of Xenopus laevis and investigated how mechanical signals regulate polarity. We reveal that the neuroectoderm is under a greater tension in the anterior-posterior direction and that perturbation of this tension causes PCP disappearance. We show that application of uniaxial stretch to explant tissues can control the orientation of PCP and that cells sense the tissue stretch indirectly through a change in their shape, rather than directly through detection of anisotropic tension. Furthermore, we reveal that PCP is most strongly established when the orientation of tissue stretch coincides with that of diffusion of locally expressed Wnt ligands, suggesting a cooperative relationship between these two PCP regulators.

Guidance by followers ensures long-range coordination of cell migration through α-catenin mechanoperception

Morphogenesis, wound healing, and some cancer metastases depend upon the migration of cell collectives that need to be guided to their destination as well as coordinated with other cell movements. During zebrafish gastrulation, the extension of the embryonic axis is led by the mesendodermal polster that migrates toward the animal pole, followed by the axial mesoderm that undergoes convergence and extension. Here, we investigate how polster cells are guided toward the animal pole. Using a combination of precise laser ablations, advanced transplants, and functional as well as in silico approaches, we establish that each polster cell is oriented by its immediate follower cells. Each cell perceives the migration of followers, through E-cadherin/α-catenin mechanotransduction, and aligns with them. Therefore, directional information propagates from cell to cell over the whole tissue. Such guidance of migrating cells by followers ensures long-range coordination of movements and developmental robustness.

Characterization of convergent thickening, a major convergence force producing morphogenic movement in amphibians

The morphogenic process of convergent thickening (CT) was originally described as the mediolateral convergence and radial thickening of the explanted ventral involuting marginal zone (IMZ) of Xenopus gastrulae (Keller and Danilchik, 1988). Here, we show that CT is expressed in all sectors of the pre-involution IMZ, which transitions to expressing convergent extension (CE) after involution. CT occurs without CE and drives symmetric blastopore closure in ventralized embryos. Assays of tissue affinity and tissue surface tension measurements suggest CT is driven by increased interfacial tension between the deep IMZ and the overlying epithelium. The resulting minimization of deep IMZ surface area drives a tendency to shorten the mediolateral (circumblastoporal) aspect of the IMZ, thereby generating tensile force contributing to blastopore closure (Shook et al., 2018). These results establish CT as an independent force-generating process of evolutionary significance and provide the first clear example of an oriented, tensile force generated by an isotropic, Holtfreterian/Steinbergian tissue affinity change.

Mechanical regulation of early vertebrate embryogenesis

Embryonic cells grow in environments that provide a plethora of physical cues, including mechanical forces that shape the development of the entire embryo. Despite their prevalence, the role of these forces in embryonic development and their integration with chemical signals have been mostly neglected, and scrutiny in modern molecular embryology tilted, instead, towards the dissection of molecular pathways involved in cell fate determination and patterning. It is now possible to investigate how mechanical signals induce downstream genetic regulatory networks to regulate key developmental processes in the embryo. Here, we review the insights into mechanical control of early vertebrate development, including the role of forces in tissue patterning and embryonic axis formation. We also highlight recent in vitro approaches using individual embryonic stem cells and self-organizing multicellular models of human embryos, which have been instrumental in expanding our understanding of how mechanics tune cell fate and cellular rearrangements during human embryonic development.

Lrrcc1 and Ccdc61 are conserved effectors of multiciliated cell function

Ciliated epithelia perform essential functions across animal evolution, ranging from locomotion of marine organisms to mucociliary clearance of airways in mammals. These epithelia are composed of multiciliated cells (MCCs) harbouring myriads of motile cilia, which rest on modified centrioles called basal bodies (BBs), and beat coordinately to generate directed fluid flows. Thus, BB biogenesis and organization is central to MCC function. In basal eukaryotes, the coiled-coil domain proteins Lrrcc1 and Ccdc61 were shown to be required for proper BB construction and function. Here, we used the Xenopus embryonic ciliated epidermis to characterize Lrrcc1 and Ccdc61 in vertebrate MCCs. We found that they both encode BB components, localized proximally at the junction with striated rootlets. Knocking down either gene caused defects in BB docking, spacing, and polarization. Moreover, their depletion impaired the apical cytoskeleton, and altered ciliary beating. Consequently, cilia-powered fluid flow was greatly reduced in morphant tadpoles, which displayed enhanced mortality when exposed to pathogenic bacteria. This work illustrates how integration across organizational scales make elementary BB components essential for the emergence of the physiological function of ciliated epithelia.

Imaging Planar Cell Polarity Proteins in Xenopus Neuroectoderm

Planar cell polarity (PCP) refers to coordinated cell polarization in the plane of the tissue. Genetic studies in Drosophila identified several core PCP genes, whose products function together in a signaling pathway that regulates cell shape, epithelial tissue organization and remodeling during morphogenesis. PCP is detected by the asymmetric distribution of core PCP proteins at different borders of epithelial cells. Believed to be critical for signaling, this segregation is studied by a variety of techniques, such as direct immunostaining and imaging of fluorescent PCP protein fusions or fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP). All of the above techniques can be applied to the analysis of the Xenopus neural plate to study the dynamics of tissue polarization, making this system one of the best vertebrate PCP models. This chapter describes how to image PCP proteins in Xenopus neuroectoderm for both fixed and live samples. These robust cellular techniques will contribute to mechanistic studies of PCP in vertebrate embryos.

Use of Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching (FRAP) to Measure In Vivo Dynamics of Cell Junction-Associated Polarity Proteins

Here, we present a detailed protocol for fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) to measure the dynamics of junctional populations of proteins in living tissue. Specifically, we describe how to perform FRAP in Drosophila pupal wings on fluorescently tagged core planar polarity proteins, which exhibit relatively slow junctional turnover. We provide a step-by-step practical guide to performing FRAP, and list a series of controls and optimizations to do before conducting a FRAP experiment. Finally, we describe how to present the FRAP data for publication.

Frizzled3 inhibits Vangl2-Prickle3 association to establish planar cell polarity in the vertebrate neural plate

The orientation of epithelial cells in the plane of the tissue, known as planar cell polarity (PCP), is regulated by interactions of asymmetrically localized PCP protein complexes. In the Xenopus neural plate, Van Gogh-like2 (Vangl2) and Prickle3 (Pk3) proteins form a complex at the anterior cell boundaries, but how this complex is regulated in vivo remains largely unknown. Here, we use proximity biotinylation and crosslinking approaches to show that Vangl2-Pk3 association is inhibited by Frizzled3 (Fz3, also known as Fzd3), a core PCP protein that is specifically expressed in the neuroectoderm and is essential for the establishment of PCP in this tissue. This inhibition required Fz3-dependent Vangl2 phosphorylaton. Consistent with our observations, the complex of Pk3 with nonphosphorylatable Vangl2 did not polarize in the neural plate. These findings provide evidence for in vivo regulation of Vangl2-Pk3 complex formation and localization by a Frizzled receptor.

In search of conserved principles of planar cell polarization

The making of an embryo and its internal organs entails the spatial coordination of cellular activities. This manifests during tissue morphogenesis as cells change shape, rearrange and divide along preferential axis and during cell differentiation. Cells live in a polarized field and respond to it by polarizing their cellular activities in the plane of the tissue by a phenomenon called planar cell polarization. This phenomenon is ubiquitous in animals and depends on a few conserved planar cell polarity (PCP) pathways. All PCP pathways share two essential characteristics: the existence of local interactions between protein complexes present at the cell surface leading to their asymmetric distribution within cells; a supracellular graded cue that aligns these cellular asymmetries at the tissue level. Here, we discuss the potential common principles of planar cell polarization by comparing the local and global mechanisms employed by the different PCP pathways identified so far. The focus of the review is on the logic of the system rather than the molecules per se.

From apolar gastrula to polarized larva: Embryonic development of a marine hydroid, Dynamena pumila

BACKGROUND

In almost all metazoans examined to this respect, the axial patterning system based on canonical Wnt (cWnt) signaling operates throughout the course of development. In most metazoans, gastrulation is polar, and embryos develop morphological landmarks of axial polarity, such as blastopore under control/regulation from cWnt signaling. However, in many cnidarian species, gastrulation is morphologically apolar. The question remains whether сWnt signaling providing the establishment of a body axis controls morphogenetic processes involved in apolar gastrulation.

RESULTS

In this study, we focused on the embryonic development of Dynamena pumila, a cnidarian species with apolar gastrulation. We thoroughly described cell behavior, proliferation, and ultrastructure and examined axial patterning in the embryos of this species. We revealed that the first signs of morphological polarity appear only after the end of gastrulation, while molecular prepatterning of the embryo does exist during gastrulation. We have shown experimentally that in D. pumila, the direction of the oral-aboral axis is highly robust against perturbations in cWnt activity.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that morphogenetic processes are uncoupled from molecular axial patterning during gastrulation in D. pumila. Investigation of D. pumila might significantly expand our understanding of the ways in which morphological polarization and axial molecular patterning are linked in Metazoa.

New mouse models for high resolution and live imaging of planar cell polarity proteins in vivo

The collective polarization of cellular structures and behaviors across a tissue plane is a near universal feature of epithelia known as planar cell polarity (PCP). This property is controlled by the core PCP pathway, which consists of highly conserved membrane-associated protein complexes that localize asymmetrically at cell junctions. Here, we introduce three new mouse models for investigating the localization and dynamics of transmembrane PCP proteins: Celsr1, Fz6 and Vangl2. Using the skin epidermis as a model, we characterize and verify the expression, localization and function of endogenously tagged Celsr1-3xGFP, Fz6-3xGFP and tdTomato-Vangl2 fusion proteins. Live imaging of Fz6-3xGFP in basal epidermal progenitors reveals that the polarity of the tissue is not fixed through time. Rather, asymmetry dynamically shifts during cell rearrangements and divisions, while global, average polarity of the tissue is preserved. We show using super-resolution STED imaging that Fz6-3xGFP and tdTomato-Vangl2 can be resolved, enabling us to observe their complex localization along junctions. We further explore PCP fusion protein localization in the trachea and neural tube, and discover new patterns of PCP expression and localization throughout the mouse embryo.

The dorsal blastopore lip is a source of signals inducing planar cell polarity in the Xenopus neural plate

Coordinated polarization of cells in the tissue plane, known as planar cell polarity (PCP), is associated with a signaling pathway critical for the control of morphogenetic processes. Although the segregation of PCP components to opposite cell borders is believed to play a critical role in this pathway, whether PCP derives from egg polarity or preexistent long-range gradient, or forms in response to a localized cue, remains a challenging question. Here we investigate the Xenopus neural plate, a tissue that has been previously shown to exhibit PCP. By imaging Vangl2 and Prickle3, we show that PCP is progressively acquired in the neural plate and requires a signal from the posterior region of the embryo. Tissue transplantations indicated that PCP is triggered in the neural plate by a planar cue from the dorsal blastopore lip. The PCP cue did not depend on the orientation of the graft and was distinct from neural inducers. These observations suggest that neuroectodermal PCP is not instructed by a preexisting molecular gradient but induced by a signal from the dorsal blastopore lip.

Multicellular modeling of ciliopathy by combining iPS cells and microfluidic airway-on-a-chip technology

Mucociliary clearance is an essential lung function that facilitates the removal of inhaled pathogens and foreign matter unidirectionally from the airway tract and is innately achieved by coordinated ciliary beating of multiciliated cells. Should ciliary function become disturbed, mucus can accumulate in the airway causing subsequent obstruction and potentially recurrent pneumonia. However, it has been difficult to recapitulate unidirectional mucociliary flow using human-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in vitro and the mechanism governing the flow has not yet been elucidated, hampering the proper humanized airway disease modeling. Here, we combine human iPSCs and airway-on-a-chip technology, to demonstrate the effectiveness of fluid shear stress (FSS) for regulating the global axis of multicellular planar cell polarity (PCP), as well as inducing ciliogenesis, thereby contributing to quantifiable unidirectional mucociliary flow. Furthermore, we applied the findings to disease modeling of primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), a genetic disease characterized by impaired mucociliary clearance. The application of an airway cell sheet derived from patient-derived iPSCs and their gene-edited counterparts, as well as genetic knockout iPSCs of PCD causative genes, made it possible to recapitulate the abnormal ciliary functions in organized PCP using the airway-on-a-chip. These findings suggest that the disease model of PCD developed here is a potential platform for making diagnoses and identifying therapeutic targets and that airway reconstruction therapy using mechanical stress to regulate PCP might have therapeutic value.

Planar cell polarity pathway in kidney development, function and disease

Planar cell polarity (PCP) refers to the coordinated orientation of cells in the tissue plane. Originally discovered and studied in Drosophila melanogaster, PCP is now widely recognized in vertebrates, where it is implicated in organogenesis. Specific sets of PCP genes have been identified. The proteins encoded by these genes become asymmetrically distributed to opposite sides of cells within a tissue plane and guide many processes that include changes in cell shape and polarity, collective cell movements or the uniform distribution of cell appendages. A unifying characteristic of these processes is that they often involve rearrangement of actomyosin. Mutations in PCP genes can cause malformations in organs of many animals, including humans. In the past decade, strong evidence has accumulated for a role of the PCP pathway in kidney development including outgrowth and branching morphogenesis of ureteric bud and podocyte development. Defective PCP signalling has been implicated in the pathogenesis of developmental kidney disorders of the congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract spectrum. Understanding the origins, molecular constituents and cellular targets of PCP provides insights into the involvement of PCP molecules in normal kidney development and how dysfunction of PCP components may lead to kidney disease.

Scribble mutation disrupts convergent extension and apical constriction during mammalian neural tube closure

Morphogenesis of the vertebrate neural tube occurs by elongation and bending of the neural plate, tissue shape changes that are driven at the cellular level by polarized cell intercalation and cell shape changes, notably apical constriction and cell wedging. Coordinated cell intercalation, apical constriction, and wedging undoubtedly require complex underlying cytoskeletal dynamics and remodeling of adhesions. Mutations of the gene encoding Scribble result in neural tube defects in mice, however the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which Scrib regulates neural cell behavior remain unknown. Analysis of Scribble mutants revealed defects in neural tissue shape changes, and live cell imaging of mouse embryos showed that the Scrib mutation results in defects in polarized cell intercalation, particularly in rosette resolution, and failure of both cell apical constriction and cell wedging. Scrib mutant embryos displayed aberrant expression of the junctional proteins ZO-1, Par3, Par6, E- and N-cadherins, and the cytoskeletal proteins actin and myosin. These findings show that Scribble has a central role in organizing the molecular complexes regulating the morphomechanical neural cell behaviors underlying vertebrate neurulation, and they advance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in mammalian neural tube closure.

Formation of polarized contractile interfaces by self-organized Toll-8/Cirl GPCR asymmetry

Interfaces between cells with distinct genetic identities elicit signals to organize local cell behaviors driving tissue morphogenesis. The Drosophila embryonic axis extension requires planar polarized enrichment of myosin-II powering oriented cell intercalations. Myosin-II levels are quantitatively controlled by GPCR signaling, whereas myosin-II polarity requires patterned expression of several Toll receptors. How Toll receptors polarize myosin-II and how this involves GPCRs remain unknown. Here, we report that differential expression of a single Toll receptor, Toll-8, polarizes myosin-II through binding to the adhesion GPCR Cirl/latrophilin. Asymmetric expression of Cirl is sufficient to enrich myosin-II, and Cirl localization is asymmetric at Toll-8 expression boundaries. Exploring the process dynamically, we reveal that Toll-8 and Cirl exhibit mutually dependent planar polarity in response to quantitative differences in Toll-8 expression between neighboring cells. Collectively, we propose that the cell surface protein complex Toll-8/Cirl self-organizes to generate local asymmetric interfaces essential for planar polarization of contractility.

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Asymmetric expression of a single Toll receptor leads to Myo-II polarization

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The adhesion GPCR Cirl binds to Toll-8 mediating Toll-8-induced Myo-II polarization

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Toll-8 boundaries generate a Cirl interfacial asymmetry that can polarize Myo-II

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Differences in Toll-8 levels lead to interdependent Toll-8 and Cirl planar polarity

Planar cell polarity induces local microtubule bundling for coordinated ciliary beating

Multiciliated cells (MCCs) in tracheas generate mucociliary clearance through coordinated ciliary beating. Apical microtubules (MTs) play a crucial role in this process by organizing the planar cell polarity (PCP)-dependent orientation of ciliary basal bodies (BBs), for which the underlying molecular basis remains elusive. Herein, we found that the deficiency of Daple, a dishevelled-associating protein, in tracheal MCCs impaired the planar polarized apical MTs without affecting the core PCP proteins, causing significant defects in the BB orientation at the cell level but not the tissue level. Using live-cell imaging and ultra-high voltage electron microscope tomography, we found that the apical MTs accumulated and were stabilized by side-by-side association with one side of the apical junctional complex, to which Daple was localized. In vitro binding and single-molecule imaging revealed that Daple directly bound to, bundled, and stabilized MTs through its dimerization. These features convey a PCP-related molecular basis for the polarization of apical MTs, which coordinate ciliary beating in tracheal MCCs.

Wnts regulate planar cell polarity via heterotrimeric G protein and PI3K signaling

In the mammalian cochlea, the planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway aligns hair cell orientation along the plane of the sensory epithelium. Concurrently, multiple cell intrinsic planar polarity (referred to as iPCP) modules mediate planar polarization of the hair cell apical cytoskeleton, including the kinocilium and the V-shaped hair bundle essential for mechanotransduction. How PCP and iPCP are coordinated during development and the roles of Wnt ligands in this process remain unresolved. Here we show that genetic blockade of Wnt secretion in the cochlear epithelium resulted in a shortened cochlear duct and misoriented and misshapen hair bundles. Mechanistically, Wnts stimulate Gi activity by regulating the localization of Daple, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for Gαi. In turn, the Gβγ complex signals through phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) to regulate kinocilium positioning and asymmetric localizations of a subset of core PCP proteins, thereby coordinating PCP and iPCP. Thus, our results identify a putative Wnt/heterotrimeric G protein/PI3K pathway for PCP regulation.

An Overview of Potential Therapeutic Agents Targeting WNT/PCP Signaling

Since the discovery of the proto-oncogene Wnt1 (Int1) in 1982, WNT signaling has been identified as one of the most important pathways that regulates a wide range of fundamental developmental and physiological processes in multicellular organisms. The canonical WNT signaling pathway depends on the stabilization and translocation of β-catenin and plays important roles in development and homeostasis. The WNT/planar cell polarity (WNT/PCP) signaling, also known as one of the β-catenin-independent WNT pathways, conveys directional information to coordinate polarized cell behaviors. Similar to WNT/β-catenin signaling, disruption or aberrant activation of WNT/PCP signaling also underlies a variety of developmental defects and cancers. However, the pharmacological targeting of WNT/PCP signaling for therapeutic purposes remains largely unexplored. In this review, we briefly discuss WNT/PCP signaling in development and disease and summarize the known drugs/inhibitors targeting this pathway.

From biomechanics to mechanobiology: Xenopus provides direct access to the physical principles that shape the embryo

Features of amphibian embryos that have served so well to elucidate the genetics of vertebrate development also enable detailed analysis of the physics that shape morphogenesis and regulate development. Biophysical tools are revealing how genes control mechanical properties of the embryo. The same tools that describe and control mechanical properties are being turned to reveal how dynamic mechanical information and feedback regulate biological programs of development. In this review we outline efforts to explore the various roles of mechanical cues in guiding cilia biology, axonal pathfinding, goblet cell regeneration, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transitions in neural crest, and mesenchymal-to-epithelial transitions in heart progenitors. These case studies reveal the power of Xenopus experimental embryology to expose pathways integrating mechanical cues with programs of development, organogenesis, and regeneration.

Dynamic Polarization of the Multiciliated Planarian Epidermis between Body Plan Landmarks

Polarity is a universal design principle of biological systems that manifests at all organizational scales, yet its coordination across scales remains poorly understood. Here, we make use of the extreme anatomical plasticity of planarian flatworms to probe the interplay between global body plan polarity and local cell polarity. Our quantitative analysis of ciliary rootlet orientation in the epidermis reveals a dynamic polarity field with head and tail as independent determinants of anteroposterior (A/P) polarization and the body margin as determinant of mediolateral (M/L) polarization. Mathematical modeling rationalizes the global polarity field and its response to experimental manipulations as superposition of separate A/P and M/L fields, and we identify the core PCP and Ft/Ds pathways as their molecular mediators. Overall, our study establishes a framework for the alignment of cellular polarity vectors relative to planarian body plan landmarks and establishes the core PCP and Ft/Ds pathways as evolutionarily conserved 2D-polarization module.

Cytoplasmic Dynein Functions in Planar Polarization of Basal Bodies within Ciliated Cells

Despite common consensus about the importance of planar cell polarity (PCP) proteins in tissue orientation, little is known about the mechanisms used by PCP proteins to promote planar polarization of cytoskeletons within individual cells. One PCP protein Fzd6 asymmetrically localizes to the apical cell membrane of multi-ciliated ependymal cells lining the lateral ventricular (LV) wall on the side that contacts cerebrospinal fluid flow. Individual ependymal cells have planar polarized microtubules that connect ciliary basal bodies (BBs) with the cell cortex of the Fzd side to coordinate cilia orientation. Here, we report that cytoplasmic dynein is anchored to the cell cortex of the Fzd side via an adapter protein Daple that regulates microtubule dynamics. Asymmetric localization of cortical dynein generates a pulling force on dynamic microtubules connected to BBs, which in turn orients BBs toward the Fzd side. This is required for coordinated cilia orientation on the LV wall.

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Daple anchors cytoplasmic dynein to the cell cortex of ependymal cells on LV wall

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Cytoplasmic dynein is anchored to the Fzd6/Dvl1/Daple side of the cell cortex

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Cytoplasmic dynein functions include BB positioning and orientation

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Cortex-anchored dynein generates a pulling force on microtubules connected to BBs

Nodal and planar cell polarity signaling cooperate to regulate zebrafish convergence and extension gastrulation movements

During vertebrate gastrulation, convergence and extension (C and E) of the primary anteroposterior (AP) embryonic axis is driven by polarized mediolateral (ML) cell intercalations and is influenced by AP axial patterning. Nodal signaling is essential for patterning of the AP axis while planar cell polarity (PCP) signaling polarizes cells with respect to this axis, but how these two signaling systems interact during C and E is unclear. We find that the neuroectoderm of Nodal-deficient zebrafish gastrulae exhibits reduced C and E cell behaviors, which require Nodal signaling in both cell- and non-autonomous fashions. PCP signaling is partially active in Nodal-deficient embryos and its inhibition exacerbates their C and E defects. Within otherwise naïve zebrafish blastoderm explants, however, Nodal induces C and E in a largely PCP-dependent manner, arguing that Nodal acts both upstream of and in parallel with PCP during gastrulation to regulate embryonic axis extension cooperatively.

Tissue mechanics drives regeneration of a mucociliated epidermis on the surface of Xenopus embryonic aggregates

Injury, surgery, and disease often disrupt tissues and it is the process of regeneration that aids the restoration of architecture and function. Regeneration can occur through multiple strategies including stem cell expansion, transdifferentiation, or proliferation of differentiated cells. We have identified a case of regeneration in Xenopus embryonic aggregates that restores a mucociliated epithelium from mesenchymal cells. Following disruption of embryonic tissue architecture and assembly of a compact mesenchymal aggregate, regeneration first restores an epithelium, transitioning from mesenchymal cells at the surface of the aggregate. Cells establish apico-basal polarity within 5 hours and a mucociliated epithelium within 24 hours. Regeneration coincides with nuclear translocation of the putative mechanotransducer YAP1 and a sharp increase in aggregate stiffness, and regeneration can be controlled by altering stiffness. We propose that regeneration of a mucociliated epithelium occurs in response to biophysical cues sensed by newly exposed cells on the surface of a disrupted mesenchymal tissue.

Convergent extension in the amphibian, Xenopus laevis

This review is a comprehensive analysis of the cell biology and biomechanics of Convergent Extension in Xenopus.

The role of intracellular interactions in the collective polarization of tissues and its interplay with cellular geometry

Planar cell polarity (PCP), the long-range in-plane polarization of epithelial tissues, provides directional information that guides a multitude of developmental processes at cellular and tissue levels. While it is manifest that cells utilize both intracellular and intercellular interactions, the coupling between the two modules, essential to the coordination of collective polarization, remains an active area of investigation. We propose a generalized reaction-diffusion model to study the role of intracellular interactions in the emergence of long-range polarization, and show that the nonlocality of cytoplasmic interactions, i.e. coupling of membrane proteins localized on different cell-cell junctions, is of vital importance to the faithful detection of weak directional signals, and becomes increasingly more crucial to the stability of polarization against the deleterious effects of large geometric irregularities. We demonstrate that nonlocal interactions are necessary for geometric information to become accessible to the PCP components. The prediction of the model regarding polarization in elongated tissues, is shown to be in agreement with experimental observations, where the polarity emerges perpendicular to the axis of elongation. Core PCP is adopted as a model pathway, in term of which we interpret the model parameters. To this end, we introduce three distinct classes of mutations, (I) in membrane proteins, (II) in cytoplasmic proteins, and (III) local enhancement of geometric disorder. Comparing the in silico and in vivo phenotypes, we show that our model successfully recapitulates the salient phenotypic features of these mutations. Exploring the parameter space helps us shed light on the role of cytoplasmic proteins in cell-cell communications, and make falsifiable predictions regarding the cooperation of cytoplasmic and membrane proteins in the establishment of long-range polarization.

Planar cell polarity (PCP) is an indispensable and conserved pathway in morphogenesis. In spite of the advances in understanding the different modules of PCP, a comprehensive picture of the intracellular protein-protein interactions necessary for the emergence of long-range tissue polarity is still lacking. In order to address this question, we devised a generalized reaction-diffusion model, through which we investigated the role of cytoplasmic interactions in PCP pathways. The length scale of intracellular interactions is demonstrated to be crucial to the stability of the cytoplasmic segregation of membrane proteins in disordered tissues, as well as the capacity of polarization field for detecting the gradient and geometrical cues. Finally, three classes of mutants are investigated within the context of our model. Comparison with the in vivo observations allows us to infer the major contributions of cytoplasmic proteins to the emergence of tissue polarity, and make testable predictions regarding the cooperation of cytoplasmic and membrane proteins in the coordination of collective polarization.

Convergent extension in mammalian morphogenesis

Convergent extension is a fundamental morphogenetic process that underlies not only the generation of the elongated vertebrate body plan from the initially radially symmetrical embryo, but also the specific shape changes characteristic of many individual tissues. These tissue shape changes are the result of specific cell behaviors, coordinated in time and space, and affected by the physical properties of the tissue. While mediolateral cell intercalation is the classic cellular mechanism for producing tissue convergence and extension, other cell behaviors can also provide similar tissue-scale distortions or can modulate the effects of mediolateral cell intercalation to sculpt a specific shape. Regulation of regional tissue morphogenesis through planar polarization of the variety of underlying cell behaviors is well-recognized, but as yet is not well understood at the molecular level. Here, we review recent advances in understanding the cellular basis for convergence and extension and its regulation.

PCP and Wnt pathway components act in parallel during zebrafish mechanosensory hair cell orientation

Planar cell polarity (PCP) plays crucial roles in developmental processes such as gastrulation, neural tube closure and hearing. Wnt pathway mutants are often classified as PCP mutants due to similarities between their phenotypes. Here, we show that in the zebrafish lateral line, disruptions of the PCP and Wnt pathways have differential effects on hair cell orientations. While mutations in the PCP genes vangl2 and scrib cause random orientations of hair cells, mutations in wnt11f1, gpc4 and fzd7a/b induce hair cells to adopt a concentric pattern. This concentric pattern is not caused by defects in PCP but is due to misaligned support cells. The molecular basis of the support cell defect is unknown but we demonstrate that the PCP and Wnt pathways work in parallel to establish proper hair cell orientation. Consequently, hair cell orientation defects are not solely explained by defects in PCP signaling, and some hair cell phenotypes warrant re-evaluation.

Planar cell polarity (PCP) regulates hair cell orientation in the zebrafish lateral line. Here, the authors show that mutating Wnt pathway genes (wnt11f1, fzd7a/b, and gpc4) causes concentric hair cell patterns not regulated by PCP, thus showing PCP/Wnt pathway genes have different consequences on hair cell orientation.

Microtubules are required for the maintenance of planar cell polarity in monociliated floorplate cells

The asymmetric localization of planar cell polarity (PCP) proteins is essential for the establishment of many planar polarized cellular processes, but the mechanisms that maintain these asymmetric distributions remain poorly understood. A body of evidence has tied oriented subapical microtubules (MTs) to the establishment of PCP protein polarity, yet recent studies have suggested that the MT cytoskeleton is later dispensable for the maintenance of this asymmetry. As MTs underlie the vesicular trafficking of membrane-bound proteins within cells, the requirement for MTs in the maintenance of PCP merited further investigation. We investigated the complex interactions between PCP proteins and the MT cytoskeleton in the polarized context of the floorplate of the zebrafish neural tube. We demonstrated that the progressive posterior polarization of the primary cilia of floorplate cells requires not only Vangl2 but also Fzd3a. We determined that GFP-Vangl2 asymmetrically localizes to anterior membranes whereas Fzd3a-GFP does not polarize on anterior or posterior membranes but maintains a cytosolic enrichment at the base of the primary cilium. Vesicular Fzd3a-GFP is rapidly trafficked along MTs primarily toward the apical membrane during a period of PCP maintenance, whereas vesicular GFP-Vangl2 is less frequently observed. Nocodazole-induced loss of MT polymerization disrupts basal body positioning as well as GFP-Vangl2 localization and reduces cytosolic Fzd3a-GFP movements. Removal of nocodazole after MT disruption restores MT polymerization but does not restore basal body polarity. Interestingly, GFP-Vangl2 repolarizes to anterior membranes and vesicular Fzd3a-GFP dynamics recover after multiple hours of recovery, even in the context of unpolarized basal bodies. Together our findings challenge previous work by revealing an ongoing role for MT-dependent transport of PCP proteins in maintaining both cellular and PCP protein asymmetry during development.

Reciprocal action of Casein Kinase Iε on core planar polarity proteins regulates clustering and asymmetric localisation

The conserved core planar polarity pathway is essential for coordinating polarised cell behaviours and the formation of polarised structures such as cilia and hairs. Core planar polarity proteins localise asymmetrically to opposite cell ends and form intercellular complexes that link the polarity of neighbouring cells. This asymmetric segregation is regulated by phosphorylation through poorly understood mechanisms. We show that loss of phosphorylation of the core protein Strabismus in the Drosophila pupal wing increases its stability and promotes its clustering at intercellular junctions, and that Prickle negatively regulates Strabismus phosphorylation. Additionally, loss of phosphorylation of Dishevelled - which normally localises to opposite cell edges to Strabismus - reduces its stability at junctions. Moreover, both phosphorylation events are independently mediated by Casein Kinase Iε. We conclude that Casein Kinase Iε phosphorylation acts as a switch, promoting Strabismus mobility and Dishevelled immobility, thus enhancing sorting of these proteins to opposite cell edges.

Biophysics in oviduct: Planar cell polarity, cilia, epithelial fold and tube morphogenesis, egg dynamics

Organs and tissues in multi-cellular organisms exhibit various morphologies. Tubular organs have multi-scale morphological features which are closely related to their functions. Here we discuss morphogenesis and the mechanical functions of the vertebrate oviduct in the female reproductive tract, also known as the fallopian tube. The oviduct functions to convey eggs from the ovary to the uterus. In the luminal side of the oviduct, the epithelium forms multiple folds (or ridges) well-aligned along the longitudinal direction of the tube. In the epithelial cells, cilia are formed orienting toward the downstream of the oviduct. The cilia and the folds are supposed to be involved in egg transportation. Planar cell polarity (PCP) is developed in the epithelium, and the disruption of the Celsr1 gene, a PCP related-gene, causes randomization of both cilia and fold orientations, discontinuity of the tube, inefficient egg transportation, and infertility. In this review article, we briefly introduce various biophysical and biomechanical issues in the oviduct, including physical mechanisms of formation of PCP and organized cilia orientation, epithelial cell shape regulation, fold pattern formation generated by mechanical buckling, tubulogenesis, and egg transportation regulated by fluid flow. We also mention about possible roles of the oviducts in egg shape formation and embryogenesis, sinuous patterns of tubes, and fold and tube patterns observed in other tubular organs such as the gut, airways, etc.