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First published online July 1, 2009

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Cdc42 divides and rules

Within the developing embryo, cells must undergo precisely oriented divisions – but many questions remain about how this process is orchestrated. For instance, the small GTPase Cdc42 controls spindle position and orientation in mouse and Xenopus oocytes, but does it also affect oriented cell division in vertebrate embryos? On page 2481, Esther Kieserman and John Wallingford show that it does. The authors establish a four-dimensional confocal imaging system for visualising Xenopus embryos, and analyse the role of Cdc42 in oriented cell division during neural-tube closure (by contrast, most studies of vertebrate cell division have focussed on cells dividing in culture). Using dominant-negative mutants of Cdc42, they show that Cdc42 is crucial for stable spindle positioning in the developing neural epithelium (but not in epidermal epithelial cells). The authors next show that cell divisions within the neural plate are planar oriented, and that Cdc42 regulates mitotic-spindle rotation to establish the correct orientation of division. Notably, the planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway – another key player in developmentally regulated cell division – does not regulate spindle orientation in this tissue. These results reveal a novel, cell-type-specific role for Cdc42 in spindle positioning and orientation in vivo.

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Related articles in JCS:

In vivo imaging reveals a role for Cdc42 in spindle positioning and planar orientation of cell divisions during vertebrate neural tube closure

Esther K. Kieserman and John B. Wallingford
JCS 2009 122: 2481-2490. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JCS Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Social Bookmarking                         What's this?