Flexibility sustains epithelial tissue homeostasis. (October 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Tai, Karen; Cockburn, Katie; Greco, Valentina
• Is Part Of: Current opinion in cell biology. Volume 60(2019)
• Page Start: 84
• Page End: 91
• Publication Date: 2019-10
• Subjects: Cells -- Periodicals; Cytology -- Periodicals; Cell Biology -- Periodicals; Biology -- Periodicals; Cells -- Periodicals; Review Literature -- Periodicals; Cell Biology; Biology; Cells; Review Literature; Cellules -- Périodiques; Cytologie -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 571.6
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ceb.2019.04.009
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0955-0674

Abstract

Abstract : Epithelia surround our bodies and line most of our organs. Intrinsic homeostatic mechanisms replenish and repair these tissues in the face of wear and tear, wounds, and even the presence of accumulating mutations. Recent advances in cell biology, genetics, and live-imaging techniques have revealed that epithelial homeostasis represents an intrinsically flexible process at the level of individual epithelial cells. This homeostatic flexibility has important implications for how we think about the more dramatic cell plasticity that is frequently thought to be associated with pathological settings. In this review, we will focus on key emerging mechanisms and processes of epithelial homeostasis and elaborate on the known molecular mechanisms of epithelial cell interactions to illuminate how epithelia are maintained throughout an organism's lifetime.