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Apical polarity in three-dimensional culture systems: where to now?

Jamie L Inman and Mina J Bissell

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Division of Life Sciences, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA

author email corresponding author email

Journal of Biology 2010, 9:2doi:10.1186/jbiol213

Published:	21 January 2010

Abstract

Delineation of the mechanisms that establish and maintain the polarity of epithelial tissues is essential to understanding morphogenesis, tissue specificity and cancer. Three-dimensional culture assays provide a useful platform for dissecting these processes but, as discussed in a recent study in BMC Biology on the culture of mammary gland epithelial cells, multiple parameters that influence the model must be taken into account.

See research article http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7007/7/77 webcite.