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. 2012 Jul 11;28(3):309–315. doi: 10.1007/s12264-012-1232-8

Planar cell polarity genes, Celsr1-3, in neural development

Jia Feng 1, Qi Han 1, Libing Zhou 1,✉
PMCID: PMC5560321  PMID: 22622831

Abstract

flamingo is among the ‘core’ planar cell-polarity genes, protein of which belongs to a unique cadherin subfamily. In contrast to the classic cadherins, composed of several extracellular cadherin repeats, one transmembrane domain and one cytoplasmic segment linked to catenin binding, Drosophila Flamingo has seven transmembrane segments and a cytoplasmic tail with no catenin-binding sequence. In Drosophila, Flamingo has pleotropic roles in controlling epithelial polarity and neuronal morphogenesis. Three mammalian orthologs of flamingo, Celsr1-3, are widely expressed in the nervous system. Recent work has shown that Celsr1-3 play important roles in neural development, such as in axon guidance, neuronal migration, and cilium polarity. Celsr1-3 single-gene knockout mice exhibit different phenotypes, but there are cooperative interactions among these genes.

Keywords: planar cell polarity, Celsr genes, neural development

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