Figure 3. A general model for cortical unmasking during polarity signaling. Schematic showing a polarizing interaction between neighboring cells. A cortical factor uniformly localized prior to division (blue ovals) masks a pre-existing polarity cue (pink asterisk). Inductive signaling (orange arrow) releases the masking factor proximal to the signaling cell establishing a new cortical cue (orange half circle) that drives spindle orientation in the responding cell. The masking factor that is released from the cortex (or other signaling intermediates) becomes asymmetrically enriched in the daughter cells (represented by different shades of blue) to drive asymmetric cell fate specification.